Arab League summit to push for Gaza reconstruction conference in Cairo

The summit will show readiness to shoulder responsibility for rebuilding the enclave, sources say

Displaced Palestinians make their way from central Gaza to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip. AP

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An Arab League summit scheduled for Cairo at the end of the month will push for an international conference proposed by Egypt on the reconstruction of Gaza, to which major international donors will be invited, sources told The National on Tuesday.

The conference, for which a date has not yet been set, will aim to demonstrate the international will to rebuild the war-battered Palestinian enclave without endorsing US President Donald Trump's suggestion of displacing its more than two million residents, the sources said.

“Egypt is in contact with major multinational donors, managers of sovereign funds in the Gulf region and large construction firms in preparation for the conference,” said one of the sources. “It will serve as the biggest tool of pressure to dissuade Trump from pursuing his plans.”

“The Arab League summit will state in its final communique its support for the Egyptian call for an international conference on Gaza reconstruction."

Mr Trump has described Gaza as a demolition site unfit for human habitation and says he intends to transform the coastal territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” after permanently relocating its residents.

The proposals have been met with regional and global outrage, with some describing them as ethnic cleansing and a breach of international law.

The US President also threatened to withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt if they do not take in Palestinians relocated from Gaza.

The emergency Arab summit called on by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will also review a Gaza reconstruction plan prepared by the Palestinian Authority, which currently runs parts of the occupied West Bank, a senior Arab diplomat said.

He told The National that Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit had been briefed on the plan by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa during talks on February 6 at the headquarters of the pan-Arab group in Cairo.

An Arab League statement on the meeting made no mention of a specific Gaza reconstruction plan being discussed. Separate statements on Mr Mustafa's meetings the previous day with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty also did not mention it.

“Aboul Gheit attentively listened to a thorough and extensive presentation by the Palestinian Prime Minister on plans and programmes to deal with the disastrous conditions in Gaza, in order to execute emergency assistance and swift recovery as a prelude to reconstruction,” an Arab League statement said of the meeting.

The senior Arab diplomat said the presentation lasted more than an hour after which Mr Aboul Gheit described it as feasible.

The Arab League chief said the plan was feasible “with the Palestinian people remaining on their land” during its execution, the statement said. The senior Arab diplomat said the presentation lasted for more than an hour.

“It is designed to show the world that we are ready to shoulder our responsibilities and have practical and workable plans for the reconstruction of Gaza that we intend to implement,” said the diplomat, who requested anonymity.

The summit on February 27 will also seek to demonstrate a united Arab front in opposition to Mr Trump's proposals, said the diplomat. “It does not sound like much, but it is. We want every member state to be publicly and firmly committed to an unwavering front of opposition to Trump's plans.”

However, he said many Palestinians in Gaza might realise a few months from now that life is impossible in the strip without essential services and amenities such as schools, health centres or a functioning sewerage system.

“That's the nuanced part that lies between voluntary departure and forcible eviction. Israel and Trump are counting on this, with Israel having worked towards that through 15 months of relentless bombardment.”

He did not say whether the summit would do more than review the blueprint of the plan which he described as “realistic”.

The proposed reconstruction plan could cost up to $100 billion and prescribes staggered stages, with the entire project lasting for up to five years, starting with the restoration of essential services in the first few months, said the diplomat.

The sources, however, said there was considerable opposition among Arab governments to the Palestinian Authority taking charge of Gaza's reconstruction before it adopts significant reforms.

The diplomat said any rebuilding plan for Gaza, where large built-up areas have been laid to waste in the 15-month Hamas-Israel war, would necessitate providing potential donors with assurances that the work would not be disrupted by another round of fighting.

“The reality is much more complicated than securing funds," he said. "No one will want to get into this without first knowing where things are headed in Gaza. Without reassurances, they will not pledge money.

“The donors need to know who is going to govern Gaza and what will the security situation be like going forward.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the reconstruction of Gaza would cost about $100 billion and that “this heavy bill” should be footed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

“The Israeli administration must first be charged with the destruction it has caused and with this, the reconstruction process in Gaza should begin,” Mr Erdogan said during an official trip to Malaysia.

Egypt, which borders both Gaza and Israel, views the tiny but densely populated enclave as part of its national security sphere. It has strongly rejected Mr Trump's plans for the resettlement of Palestinians on its territory and insists such action would undermine the Palestinian cause.

Egypt has been a close US ally for nearly 50 years. It has received billions of dollars in US economic and military aid over the years, including $1.3 billion in annual US military aid, a programme that helped the most populous Arab nation to modernise its army.

The two nations also have close co-operation in counter-terrorism and intelligence-sharing, with US warships given priority in transiting the Suez Canal and the Arab nation's airspace routinely available to American military aircraft.

Mr Trump, according to unconfirmed reports, is meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Washington later this month. There has been no official confirmation of these reports from Cairo, Riyadh or the White House.

The US President is receiving King Abdullah of Jordan at the White House on Tuesday.

Israel's military campaign in Gaza was prompted by a deadly attack on southern Israel by Hamas and its allies in October 2023. At least 48,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than twice that number injured, according to the Gaza government since the war began. A fragile ceasefire mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar paused the war on January 19.