The Arab League issued a statement following a summit in Cairo on Tuesday backing an Egyptian-proposed $53 billion reconstruction plan for Gaza, an idea quickly rejected by Israel and the US.
The Egyptian proposal was a response to President Trump’s calls for the US to “take over” Gaza, a plan that would involve an ethnic cleansing campaign to forcibly displace Palestinians. The Arab statement rejected “any form of Palestinian displacement, whether within or beyond their land, under any pretext or justification.”
A major talking point from the Trump administration is that Palestinians can no longer live in Gaza due to the massive destruction caused by the US-backed Israeli bombing campaign, but the Egyptian proposal would keep Palestinians in the territory during reconstruction.
The first phase of the five-year reconstruction plan would involve establishing temporary housing and initial repairs of partially damaged homes that aren’t totally destroyed. A temporary committee led by the Palestinian Authority (PA) would oversee the first six months of reconstruction, and then the PA would take over the management of the Strip.
Hamas, which has said it does not need to rule over a post-war Gaza, welcomed the plan. “We welcome the Gaza reconstruction plan adopted in the summit’s final statement and call for ensuring all necessary resources for its success,” the group said.
Hamas also expressed support for “the formation of the Community Support Committee to oversee relief efforts, reconstruction and governance in Gaza,” referring to the temporary committee.
In its statement rejecting the proposal, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the Arab League’s statement “fails to address the realities of the situation following October 7th, 2023, remaining rooted in outdated perspectives.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry complained that the Arab statement didn’t condemn Hamas’s October 7 attack and that it “relies” on the PA and the UN’s Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA. The ministry called for President Trump’s plan to be implemented instead.
“Now, with President Trump’s idea, there is an opportunity for the Gazans to have free choice based on their free will. This should be encouraged! Instead, Arab states have rejected this opportunity, without giving it a fair chance, and continue to level baseless accusations against Israel,” the ministry said.
White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes also rejected the Arab League statement, saying the plan doesn’t “address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance.”
Hughes added that President Trump “stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas.”
