Leaders of Arab countries endorsed Egypt’s Gaza reconstruction plan, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi announced, in a move to counter the controversial ideas of US President Donald Trump, although a number of crucial details remain to be ironed out.
The proposition was endorsed at an extraordinary Arab League summit held on Tuesday, with Jordanian King Abdullah, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres among those present in an ornate domed hall at the new administrative capital on the outskirts of Cairo.
“This plan preserves the Palestinian people’s right to rebuild their homeland and ensures it remains on its land,” al-Sisi said in opening remarks, adding that Cairo would host a Gaza reconstruction conference next month.
Photo: Egyptian Presidency via AFP
He urged fellow leaders to contribute to a special fund that would be created for Gaza.
Parallel political and security tracks would be launched to support the rebuilding plan, he said.
Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, has said it welcomes the Arab-endorsed reconstruction plan.
Arab leaders have rejected Trump’s proposal to relocate all the residents of war-ravaged Gaza to make way for the US to build what he has called the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The closing statement of the Arab summit condemned Israel’s decision this month to suspend humanitarian aid to Gaza and warned against the displacement of Palestinians and the occupation of more Palestinian territories, a move described as a “clear threat to the foundations of peace in the Middle East.”
It also stressed the importance of implementing the phased ceasefire agreement, including the withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip and the Philadelphi corridor near the border with Egypt.
For a transitional period, the statement welcomed a suggestion to form a committee under the Palestinian government to administer Gaza, and a proposal from Egypt and Jordan to train Palestinian police in the coastal enclave.
It also called on the UN Security Council to deploy peacekeeping forces in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
However, while the representatives, including from Saudi Arabia, are seeking to project a unified front against Trump’s proposal to displace Palestinians, the initiative faces several major hurdles, some people briefed on the approximately 150-page document said.
Disagreements exist over the issue of Palestinian governance of Gaza, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive material.
Security of the enclave is another outstanding matter, they said, as well as the future of Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and a few other nations.
Al-Sisi said the effort to agree to a post-war Gaza plan should be a prelude to the creation of a Palestinian state and comprehensive peace between Israel and all Arab countries — and that this was possible with Trump in the White House.
The conflict has left the territory’s residents with a choice between “being annihilated or displaced,” he added.
“I am certain President Trump can do it given our sincere desire in ending tensions and enmities in our region,” said al-Sisi, who rejected Trump’s offer that Egypt host many of the 2 million Palestinians who would be driven out of Gaza.
A 90-page version of the Arab plan seen by Bloomberg News — dated this month and titled: “Gaza, Palestine: Early Recovery and Gaza Reconstruction and Development” — envisions multiple phases lasting between six months to five years at a total cost of US$53.2 billion.
Initially, 1.5 million Palestinians would be housed in temporary units spread out over seven sites across the war-ravaged territory as the monumental task of removing about 50 million tonnes of rubble gets underway, the document says.
The day-to-day affairs of Gaza would be run by “an independent committee consisting of technocrats and non-partisan” Palestinian figures “under the umbrella of the Palestinian government,” paving the way for the full return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza, according to the plan.
Al-Sisi confirmed this in his speech.
Egypt and Jordan would vet and train people to police Gaza with the possibility of deploying “an international defense/peacekeeping force with clear references” mandated by the UN Security Council, added the draft, without providing details.
One Arab official involved in drafting the plan said Hamas’ name was intentionally left out so as not to antagonize the group and secure its cooperation in implementation.
ECONOMIC WORRIES: The ruling PAP faces voters amid concerns that the city-state faces the possibility of a recession and job losses amid Washington’s tariffs Singapore yesterday finalized contestants for its general election on Saturday next week, with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) fielding 32 new candidates in the biggest refresh of the party that has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965. The move follows a pledge by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財), who took office last year and assumed the PAP leadership, to “bring in new blood, new ideas and new energy” to steer the country of 6 million people. His latest shake-up beats that of predecessors Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟), who replaced 24 and 11 politicians respectively
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS