Ibrahim al-Khazen and Ahmed Asmar
04 March 2025•Update: 04 March 2025
ISTANBUL
An emergency Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday will adopt Egypt’s plan for the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip, according to its draft final communique.
The state-affiliated Al-Qahera News channel, citing the draft communique, said the summit will call on the international community to provide swift support to the Egyptian plan.
It will also welcome Egypt’s initiative to hold an international conference for Gaza reconstruction this month.
The summit is set to convene later Tuesday to formulate a unified Arab stance on the Palestinian issue and present an Arab counterproposal to US plans for the displacement of Gaza's population.
According to the news channel, the Egyptian plan for Gaza's reconstruction requires a “transitional governance arrangements and security that preserve the prospects of a two-state solution” in Gaza.
It also stresses that “Gaza is an integral part of the Palestinian territories,” the channel said.
“Attempts to strip the Palestinian people of hope for statehood or seize their land will only lead to further conflicts and instability,” it warns.
The plan also calls for "the necessity of maintaining the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip."
The Egyptian plan “will take three years to implement and includes early recovery programs and reconstruction efforts running in parallel, while advancing toward a two-state solution as part of a political resolution."
It also calls for "the establishment of a buffer zone after debris removal and the construction of 20 temporary housing areas with the participation of Egyptian and foreign companies.”
The plan includes the formation of a Gaza administration committee to run the enclave for a six-month transitional period. This committee will be independent and composed of non-partisan "technocrats,” operating under the umbrella of the Palestinian government.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called to “take over” Gaza and resettle its population to develop it into a tourist destination. His plan was rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.
Nearly 48,400 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 111,000 others injured in a brutal Israeli war on Gaza since October 2023. The onslaught, which left the enclave in ruins, was paused under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold on Jan. 19.
Israel halted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Sunday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to start negotiations on the second phase of a ceasefire deal between Tel Aviv and Hamas.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
