Tom Bateman

Well, what we have seen over the last week, particularly with a visit by King Abdullah of Jordan to Washington, is I think the Arab nation scrambling to try to come up with their own version of a plan for the future of Gaza. And that is because, as you say, Donald Trump has said that he wants the U.S. to take possession of Gaza after its Palestinian population has been emptied from the Gaza Strip.

and given no right to return. I mean, a move that would clearly breach international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. And I think the Arab nations are now... who receive significant amounts of money, Jordan and Egypt, in terms of financial and military aid from the Americans...

and given no right to return. I mean, a move that would clearly breach international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. And I think the Arab nations are now... who receive significant amounts of money, Jordan and Egypt, in terms of financial and military aid from the Americans...

scrambling really to come up with their own version of a plan for the future of Gaza to present as an alternative to Mr. Trump's plan. And we have heard Marco Rubio say that his justification for Mr. Trump's plan is it puts the onus on Arab countries to come up with their version to effectively pay and to even provide security forces to establish a future for Gaza.

scrambling really to come up with their own version of a plan for the future of Gaza to present as an alternative to Mr. Trump's plan. And we have heard Marco Rubio say that his justification for Mr. Trump's plan is it puts the onus on Arab countries to come up with their version to effectively pay and to even provide security forces to establish a future for Gaza.

But what all of this does is really create a vacuum of any strategic strategy future for Gaza that is both viable and internationally accepted. And I think that is why, you know, the current ceasefire and hostage release process in terms of its end goal is in quite serious jeopardy now.

But what all of this does is really create a vacuum of any strategic strategy future for Gaza that is both viable and internationally accepted. And I think that is why, you know, the current ceasefire and hostage release process in terms of its end goal is in quite serious jeopardy now.

We learned basically that he is fundamentally doubling down on the two things that he has been saying recently.

We learned basically that he is fundamentally doubling down on the two things that he has been saying recently.

First of all, and he was asked extensively about his plan to clean out the Gaza Strip, as he's put it, to empty it of Palestinians, a plan which appears to involve the forcible relocation of some two million people and for the US to become the occupying power of Gaza and to turn it into a Mediterranean resort. He talked about building hotels there, said it would look...

First of all, and he was asked extensively about his plan to clean out the Gaza Strip, as he's put it, to empty it of Palestinians, a plan which appears to involve the forcible relocation of some two million people and for the US to become the occupying power of Gaza and to turn it into a Mediterranean resort. He talked about building hotels there, said it would look...

And the second was about this noon Saturday deadline that he first revealed on Monday, in which he says that if Hamas doesn't release all of the remaining hostages, that there would be, in his words, hell to pay. The phrase he used today, that all bets would be off if that doesn't take place. So...

And the second was about this noon Saturday deadline that he first revealed on Monday, in which he says that if Hamas doesn't release all of the remaining hostages, that there would be, in his words, hell to pay. The phrase he used today, that all bets would be off if that doesn't take place. So...

Sitting next to King Abdullah of Jordan, one of the countries he has said that he expects to take relocated Palestinians, as he puts it in his language, and the Jordanians obviously adamantly opposed this plan, but we didn't hear that kind of opposition, certainly not being voiced publicly in front of the press in the Oval Office.

Sitting next to King Abdullah of Jordan, one of the countries he has said that he expects to take relocated Palestinians, as he puts it in his language, and the Jordanians obviously adamantly opposed this plan, but we didn't hear that kind of opposition, certainly not being voiced publicly in front of the press in the Oval Office.

Well, I think united he means Arab nations. And what appears to be happening, at least my sense is, that Egypt at the moment is working on an alternative proposal to President Trump's plans. Now, this would involve potentially something like a sort of technocratic administration or governance of Gaza, not drawn from political factions. So that obviously keeps Hamas engaged.

Well, I think united he means Arab nations. And what appears to be happening, at least my sense is, that Egypt at the moment is working on an alternative proposal to President Trump's plans. Now, this would involve potentially something like a sort of technocratic administration or governance of Gaza, not drawn from political factions. So that obviously keeps Hamas engaged.

out of the mix, not clear how they would involve security forces is an absolutely key question. But this is basically, I think, the Arab countries, led at the moment by Egypt, scrambling to come up with an alternative to Mr Trump's plan basically for the US to take possession of the Gaza Strip and to clear out its population.

out of the mix, not clear how they would involve security forces is an absolutely key question. But this is basically, I think, the Arab countries, led at the moment by Egypt, scrambling to come up with an alternative to Mr Trump's plan basically for the US to take possession of the Gaza Strip and to clear out its population.

Now, what we heard from King Abdullah is that there was an Egyptian proposal kind of in the works that they were going to meet in Riyadh under the sponsorship of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and formulate this proposition, which they would then discuss with the Americans. So I think that's where the Arab countries are at.