Rubio embarks on his first Mideast trip, visiting Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Israel

Rubio to Visit Israel, UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia on Mideast Trip Amid Gaza Controversy

Rubio to Visit Israel, UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia on Mideast Trip Amid Gaza Controversy

Rubio to Visit Israel, UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia on Mideast Trip Amid Gaza Controversy

WASHINGTON — After attending the Munich Security Conference next week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, marking his second foreign tour as Washington’s top diplomat under the Trump administration.

Rubio is scheduled to stop in Israel first before heading to the Gulf on Feb. 13, Reuters reported on Friday.

The trip comes days after US President Donald Trump suggested relocating almost the entire population of the war-torn Gaza Strip to other countries, sparking controversy across the Middle East.

Trump has repeatedly said he hopes Egypt and Jordan will accept a large number of refugees from Gaza, a notion that has been firmly rejected by both countries, as well as Saudi Arabia and the broader Arab League.

Trump compared the idea to the “Riviera of the Middle East” when he announced that the United States would take “ownership” of the Gaza Strip and collaborate with neighbouring nations to redevelop it at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday.

The White House did not specify how the proposal would be carried out. Trump maintained in a social media tweet on Thursday that the endeavour “would not require” U.S. soldiers, a position that has been denounced as impractical and cruel by both congressional legislators. The proposal has been compared to ethnic cleansing by academics and conflict experts.

Rubio’s visit is expected to focus on quelling backlash against Trump’s plan, as he seeks to reassure Arab allies that cooperation is crucial to U.S. military bases, access to strategic waterways and maintaining peace treaties with Israel.

As part of the incoming administration’s efforts to increase American influence in the Western Hemisphere, Rubio travelled to five Latin American and Caribbean nations last week.

Trump has reaffirmed his pledge to support the normalisation of relations between Israel and more Arab nations. Saudi Arabia, which is regarded as the primary target for normalisation efforts, has maintained its view that such a shift would necessitate tangible moves towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Trump stated without providing further details on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia had not demanded that requirement. He spoke with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the phone for the first time in his second term, and last weekend he spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Trump has essentially stopped all U.S. foreign aid since taking office last month, with the exception of Egypt and Israel. Despite claiming that the ruling is unlawful and unconstitutional, congressional Democrats have few alternatives for contesting it because of their minority status in the legislature.

“I think the president is very good at negotiating,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House on Wednesday, when asked about Trump’s comments on Gaza. “I think that’s what he’s doing.”