Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is expected to arrive in Riyadh today for more talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the Arab-led plan to rebuild Gaza, Reuters reports citing unnamed Egyptian security sources. El Sisi’s visit — confirmed by Egyptian media — comes ahead of a meeting of Arab leaders that is set to precede the official unveiling of the plan at an upcoming summit in Cairo, scheduled for Tuesday, March 4.

The blueprint — which is primarily based on an Egyptian proposal — is being developed as a counter bid to Trump’s proposal to “clean out” Gaza, which saw swift rebuffs from Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab World. The vision looks to establish a national Palestinian committee to govern Gaza without involvement from Hamas. Meanwhile, residents will not be displaced from the Palestinian enclave, while Arab and GCC states will shell out an estimated USD 20 bn over three years to fund the first phase of reconstruction, newswire said citing statements from the Palestinian Authority and two unnamed sources.

The USD 20 bn ticket may be enough to get Trump on board, Emirati academic Abdulkhaleq Abdullah told the newswire. “Trump is transactional,” Abdullah said, adding that many US and Israeli companies could stand to benefit. Israel is standoffish so far, with Israeli FM Gideon Saar saying that Israel will evaluate the plan when it comes out, while stressing that Hamas maintaining a presence in Gaza was a red line.

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