Arab leaders meet in Egypt to approve counterproposal to Trump’s Gaza plan
Egypt has developed an alternative plan in which Palestinians would be relocated to safe areas inside Gaza.
Arab leaders meeting in Egypt are set to approve a counterproposal to US President Donald Trump’s call for the Gaza Strip to be depopulated and transformed into a beach destination.
The summit on Tuesday hosted by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is expected to include the leaders of regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose support is seen as crucial for any post-war plan.
Egypt has developed an alternative plan in which Palestinians would be relocated to safe areas inside Gaza equipped with mobile homes and shelters while its cities are rebuilt.
Hamas would cede power to an interim administration of political independents until a reformed Palestinian Authority can assume control.
Israel has vowed to maintain open-ended security control over both territories, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and which Palestinians want for their future state.
Its government and most of its political class are opposed to Palestinian statehood.
Israel has meanwhile embraced what it says is an alternative US proposal for the ceasefire itself and the release of hostages taken in Hamas’s October 7 2023, attack that triggered the war.
It has blocked the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza to try to get Hamas to accept the new proposal and has warned of additional consequences, raising fears of a return to war.
The suspension of aid drew widespread criticism, with human rights groups saying it violated Israel’s obligations as an occupying power under international law.
Israel’s preferred plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages — the militant group’s main bargaining chip — in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners, a key component of the first phase.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, an opponent of Hamas, was attending the summit.
The fragile ceasefire that took hold in January is meanwhile in limbo and the war could resume.
Mr Trump shocked the region last month when he suggested Gaza’s roughly two million residents be resettled in other countries.
He said the United States would take ownership of the war-ravaged territory and redevelop it into a Middle Eastern “Riviera”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embraced the proposal, which was roundly rejected by Palestinians, Arab countries and human rights experts, who said it would likely violate international law.
