Arab leaders endorse a counterproposal to Trump's Gaza plan, with ceasefire uncertain

CAIRO — Arab leaders on Tuesday endorsed Egypt’s postwar plan for the Gaza Strip that would allow its roughly 2 million Palestinians to remain, in a counterproposal to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to depopulate the territory and redevelop it as a beach destination.

It was unclear if Israel or the United States would accept the Egyptian plan whose endorsement by Arab leaders, announced by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, amounted to a widespread rejection of Trump’s proposal. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to comment.

Tuesday’s summit in Cairo included the emir of Qatar, the vice president of the United Arab Emirates and the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia — countries whose support is crucial for any postwar plan. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres also attended.

Addressing the summit, el-Sissi said that the plan ‘’preserves the right of Palestinian people in rebuilding their nation and guarantees their existence on their land.‘’

Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the summit’s final communique calls on the U.N. Security Council to deploy an international peacekeeping force in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

‘‘Peace is the Arabs’ strategic option,‘’ he told a news conference, adding that the communique rejected the transfer of Palestinians and endorsed Egypt’s reconstruction plan.

‘‘The Egyptian plan creates a path for a new security and political context in Gaza,‘’ he said.

Israel has embraced what it says is an alternative U.S. proposal for the ceasefire itself and the release of hostages taken in Hamas' attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war. Israel 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 fighting.

The suspension of aid drew widespread criticism, with human rights groups saying that it violated Israel’s obligations as an occupying power under international law.

The new 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.

Egypt’s postwar plan

Egypt’s $53 billion plan foresees rebuilding Gaza by 2030 without removing its population. The first phase calls for starting the removal of unexploded ordnance and clearing more than 50 million tons of rubble left by Israel’s bombardment and military offensives.

The final communique said Egypt will host an international conference in cooperation with the United Nations for Gaza’s reconstruction, and a World Bank-overseen trust fund will be established to receive pledges to implement the early recovery and reconstruction plan.

According to a 112-page draft of the plan obtained by The Associated Press, hundreds of thousands of temporary housing units would be set up for Gaza’s population while reconstruction takes place. The rubble would be recycled, with some of it used as infill to expand land on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.

In the following years, the plan envisages completely reshaping the strip, building ‘’sustainable, green and walkable'' housing and urban areas, with renewable energy. It renovates agricultural lands and creates industrial zones and large park areas.

It also calls for the opening of an airport, a fishing port and a commercial port. The Oslo peace accords in the 1990s called for the opening of an airport and a commercial port in Gaza, but the projects withered as the peace process collapsed.

Under the plan, Hamas would cede power to an interim administration of political independents until a reformed Palestinian Authority can assume control. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Western-backed authority and an opponent of Hamas, was attending the summit.

Israel has ruled out any role for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza and, along with the United States, has demanded Hamas' disarmament. Hamas, which doesn’t accept Israel’s existence, has said it’s willing to cede power in Gaza to other Palestinians, but won’t give up its arms until there is a Palestinian state.

Speaking at the summit, el-Sissi said there is a need for a parallel path for peace to achieve a ‘’comprehensive, just and lasting settlement'' to the Palestinian cause.

‘‘There will be no true peace without the establishment of the Palestinian state,‘’ the Egyptian leader said. ‘’It’s time to adopt the launching of a serious and effective political path that leads to a permanent and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause according to the resolutions of international legitimacy.‘’

Israel has vowed to maintain open-ended security control over both territories, which it captured in the 1967 Mideast war and which Palestinians want for their future state. Israel’s government and most of its political class are opposed to Palestinian statehood.

Trump shocked the region last month when he suggested Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians be resettled in other countries. He said the United States would take ownership of the territory and redevelop it into a Middle Eastern ‘’Riviera.‘’

Netanyahu embraced the proposal, which was roundly rejected by Palestinians, Arab countries and human rights experts, who said it would likely violate international law.

Riccardo Fabiani, North Africa director at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank, said Egypt was “trying to present a credible alternative focused on reconstruction and an indirect consultation mechanism for Hamas that could reassure Israel and the US.‘’

Children from Gaza head to Jordan for treatment

Trump has suggested Egypt and Jordan, two close American allies, could take in large numbers of Palestinian refugees from Gaza. Both countries have adamantly rejected any such plan.

Meeting with Trump at the White House last month, King Abdullah II of Jordan offered to take in around 2,000 children for medical treatment. The first group of around 30 children, accompanied by up to two family members, left Gaza for Jordan on Tuesday, according to Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

Jordan said the children are amputees and will return to Gaza when their treatment is complete. The kingdom has also set up field hospitals in Gaza and delivered aid by air and land.

The war began with Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people hostage. Hamas-led militants are still holding 59 hostages, 35 of whom are believed to be dead.

Most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements. Israel has rescued eight living hostages and recovered the remains of dozens more.

Israel’s 15-month offensive killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It doesn’t say how many were fighters, but the ministry says women and children made up more than half the dead. Israel says it killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The offensive destroyed large areas of Gaza, including much of its health system and other infrastructure. At its height, the war displaced about 90% of the population, mostly within the territory, where hundreds of thousands packed into squalid tent camps and schools repurposed as shelters.

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Jahjouh reported from Khan Younis, Gaza Strip.

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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war