“The first step in Gaza will be to defeat Hamas. After that, I believe that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will support the rehabilitation of the Strip,” Netanyahu said in closed-door testimony to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, in one of several remarks that were later leaked to some few Hebrew media outlets.
The basis for Netanyahu’s claim was not immediately clear. Neither oil-rich Gulf country has given any public indication that it would be willing to take on such a task.
Moreover, Arab and US officials have told The Times of Israel repeatedly over the past two months that Arab support for the reconstruction of Gaza is far from a given and that it will at best amount to a placeholder until the Palestinian Authority is ready to take over and advance a two-state solution.
Netanyahu, however, has all but ruled out both the return of the PA to Gaza, and a two-state solution. READ MORE