Rubio anticipates that the UAE and Saudi Arabia will present an alternative to Trump's Gaza plan.

On Sunday, February 16, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will embark on his first official trip to the Middle East as the chief American diplomat. He is expected to encourage the region to present its proposals, particularly if countries are concerned about the U.S. taking control of Gaza and displacing its residents.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Bloomberg.

According to a State Department representative, during his visit to the Munich Security Conference and stops in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, Rubio will emphasize that these countries need to put forward a new proposal.

Specifically, he will urge regional leaders to think outside the box and form a coalition of partners to present a fresh plan that will bring real change to the Palestinians after more than a year of war that has devastated much of Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel.

"I hope they have a really good plan to present to the president, but right now the only plan they don't like is Trump's plan, so if there's a better plan, now is the time to present it," Rubio said.

He added that partner countries need to do more than just fund reconstruction. In particular, they should stand against Hamas.

Recall that Donald Trump expressed readiness for the U.S. to take control of the Gaza Strip and develop it. He also did not rule out the possibility of deploying American troops to the region. Trump stated that Washington would ask other neighboring countries to accept Palestinians displaced from Gaza.

Earlier, the U.S. president proposed a plan for the temporary relocation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip following agreements between Israel and the Hamas group to cease hostilities.