Arab summit on post-war Gaza kicks off in Cairo
The plan will reportedly include a reconstruction program worth tens of billions of dollars and a deployment of peacekeeping forces
Egypt is expected to present its plan for post-war Gaza on 4 March during a much-anticipated Arab summit in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
The summit will begin at 3:00 pm local time and will be attended by officials from several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Syria's transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa will also be present.
Arabic media reports said that the Egyptian plan will be formally adopted in a joint statement at the end of the summit.
According to a draft of the Egyptian plan obtained by Al-Araby TV, a $53 billion roadmap will be proposed for the reconstruction of Gaza.
The draft stipulates that a committee will be formed to administer Gaza for six months, paving the way for the return of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The plan also says the UN Security Council (UNSC) could consider deploying international peacekeeping forces in Gaza.
The Gaza administration committee will be composed of independent figures and operate under the Palestinian government’s framework.
Seven designated areas in Gaza will be allocated for temporary housing for 1.5 million Palestinians.
“The plan is based on preserving the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people and the two-state solution,” reported Al-Qahera News. “Implementation requires arrangements for transitional governance and providing security in a way that preserves the prospects of a two-state solution.”
Peacekeeping forces would be deployed “in an integrated context for establishing the Palestinian state.”
Hamas announced on Tuesday that it does not have an issue being uninvolved in administrative arrangements for the future of the Gaza Strip.
“Our position is clear, any arrangements for the future of Gaza after the end of the aggression against it are done with national consensus, and we will facilitate the matter. Hamas does not necessarily have to be part of the arrangements, and it is not concerned with that, and does not want to be in these arrangements at all,” said Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem.
He stressed, however, the importance of these arrangements being implemented “with internal national consensus,” and that Hamas “will not allow any external force to interfere.”
He added that any plan must “launch a serious and real reconstruction process to save our people in the Gaza Strip from the catastrophe that befell them with the war of genocide.”
US President Donald Trump announced in February that Washington aims to take over Gaza and expel its residents. He claimed the initiative strives to find a safer location for Palestinians while international development teams take charge of reconstructing the battered and besieged strip.
Despite Trump backtracking from his plan and announcing that he does not intend to impose it by force, Arab states have doubled down on rejecting the displacement of Palestinians as part of any reconstruction and post-war management plans for Gaza, and have rushed to draft an alternative proposal.
Reuters reported on 3 March, citing a draft of the Egyptian plan, that the initiative to counter Trump’s plan for Gaza aims to “sideline” Hamas and replace its governance with western and Arab-led “interim bodies.”