An informed Egyptian source said that the joint statement issued by eight Arab and Islamic countries stressing the need to adhere to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza came as a result of coordinated efforts between Cairo and Doha in recent hours. This followed the arrival of Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Qatar and intensive consultations between the two sides to protect the Sharm el-Sheikh track.

According to the source, Egypt and Qatar sensed a “real risk of collapse” of the plan, whose political framework was announced at the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit in mid-October, due to what he described as “clear Israeli intransigence” in implementing the terms and attempts to manipulate the second phase — particularly regarding opening the Rafah crossing in one direction and delaying the full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

He added that the joint move came out of fear that the period preceding the anticipated meeting between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later this month could be exploited to rewrite parts of the plan or impose new interpretations. The statement, he said, was intended to block any new U.S.-Israeli understandings that might reshape the second phase in a way that contradicts what had already been agreed upon.

The source noted that the eight signatory countries are: Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan.