In an effort to come up with a strategy for Gaza’s future, the leaders of seven Arab nations have met in Saudi Arabia.
The gathering on Friday in Riyadh was intended to respond to US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the US would “take over” Gaza, permanently forcibly relocate its residents, and create the Palestinian enclave as the “Riviera” of the Middle East.
Arab leaders have roundly rejected Trump’s proposal, saying it throws out decades of work towards Palestinian self-determination, treads on the rights of residents of Gaza and will perpetuate a regional cycle of violence.
At a March 4 Arab League meeting in Cairo, Egypt, they hope to receive a plan alternative with steadfast support.
King Abdullah II of Jordan, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Kuwaiti Emir Meshal al-Ahmad Al Sabah, Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Abdel Fattah al-
No one of the participating nations had made a formal statement of the meeting on Friday, and it was unclear whether any details of a plan had been agreed upon.
attempting to create a “unified front.”
Hashem Ahelbarra, a journalist from Riyadh, stated that the meeting on Friday began with the presentation of an Egyptian reconstruction plan that was being considered for a three-phase ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.
Only the initial stage of the agreement, which saw a stop to fighting and captive exchanges, has so far been agreed upon. A third phase aims to address rebuilding the Palestinian enclave, while a second phase will bring the conflict to an end entirely.
Before the Cairo meeting, Ahelbarra claimed that the Arab leaders are hoping to “put on a united front with a new proposal that can be easily sold to the Americans and the international audience.”
He said, “We’re talking about extremely difficult issues that could have a significant impact on the region for many years.”
He continued, “It’s still up to me to decide how reconstruction will be funded by an Arab-led plan.” The reconstruction of Gaza, which included $20 billion in the first three years, was reported earlier this week by the World Bank, UN, and European Union.
Any reconstruction strategy also veers into Ahelbarra’s wider concerns about how to control Gaza once the war is over, according to Ahelbarra.
Hussein Haridy, the former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister, told Al Jazeera that the gathering is “important for the Palestinians and the Arab countries.”
“Allow me to quote William Shakespeare, it’s ‘ to be, or not to be ‘ for the Arab world today”, he said.
Because the Arab and Palestinian struggle of seven decades would end if the Trump proposal were to come into force.
Israel and a large number of its Western allies oppose Hamas’s threat of remaining in the region’s shadow. Despite greater support from the international community for that possibility, Israel has also rejected the Palestinian Authority’s attempt to seize control of Gaza.
Observers say Egypt and Jordan, which Trump has repeatedly pressured to accept displaced Palestinians, are particularly in need of an agreement.
If recipients don’t comply, the US president has threatened to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in aid. The scheme has been rejected by both nations.
Alternative to Trump
Cairo’s preliminary reconstruction plan has not been made public, for its part.
However, Mohamed Hegazy, a former Egyptian diplomat, described a plan as “three technical phases over a three to five year period.”
A first six-month phase would focus on “early recovery” and the removal of debris, he said.
A detailed plan for restoring infrastructure and rebuilding Gaza would be presented at an international conference in the second phase.
He said, referring to a potential Palestinian statehood, that housing and services would be provided and that a “political track” would be established to implement the two-state solution.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Abdulaziz al-Ghashian, the director of research at Riyadh-based Observer Research Foundation Middle East, said all the countries involved in Friday’s meeting are determining how to respond to an “administration in the United States that is almost proud of trying to support]Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu blindly”.
He added that the Israeli prime minister is attempting to maximize his efforts and try his luck.
Al-Gashian said that any Arab-led plan “cannot discern between economy, politics and security”, including a path to Palestinian self-determination.
Source: Aljazeera
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