Amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, Egypt has announced its own reconstruction plan for the largely destroyed Gaza Strip.

 “Egypt expresses its aspiration to cooperate with the U.S. administration to achieve a comprehensive and just peace in the region by reaching a just settlement of the Palestinian. This is the cause that upholds the rights of the region’s peoples,” said a statement by the Foreign Ministry in Cairo.

 The statement noted that reconstruction of the Gaza Strip must be carried out.

 It added, “In a manner that ensures the Palestinian people remain in their homeland and aligns with their legitimate and legal rights.’’

 Egypt said a two-state solution, which provides for Israel and a Palestinian state to coexist as independent states, is “the only path to stability and coexistence among the region’s peoples.’’

 A week ago, Mr Trump proposed the U.S. takeover and level the war-ruined coastal territory, resettle the nearly two million Palestinians living there.

 They were all engaged in a massive rebuilding effort to create the riviera of the Middle East.

 Mr Trump on Tuesday once again spoke of Gaza’s value in real estate terms, noting that it’s fronting on the sea.

 The U.S. president has said he expected to be able to strike a deal with Israel’s neighbours Egypt and Jordan for the relocation of the Palestinians.

 However, both countries have vehemently rejected the idea of accommodating Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

 The plan has sparked fierce criticism from Washington’s allies and adversaries, although Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, praised the idea.

(dpa/NAN)