Arab leaders will gather in Saudi Arabia on Friday to oppose President Donald Trump’s plan for US control of Gaza and the expulsion of its people, sources said. While the plan has brought Arab states together in opposition, divisions persist over Gaza’s future governance and reconstruction funding.
Umer Karim, a Saudi foreign policy expert, called the summit the most significant in decades for the Arab world and the Palestinian cause.
Read More: Egypt counters Trump’s Gaza plan with reconstruction proposal …
Trump triggered global outrage when he proposed the United States would “take over the Gaza Strip” and the relocation of its 2.4 million people to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan.
A source close to the Saudi government told AFP Arab leaders would discuss “a reconstruction plan counter to Trump’s plan for Gaza”.
Meeting with Trump in Washington on February 11, Jordan’s King Abdullah II said Egypt would present a plan for a way forward.
The Saudi source said the talks would discuss “a version of the Egyptian plan” the king mentioned.
Initially planned as a summit for Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan, the meeting has expanded to include all six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the Palestinian Authority and Iraq, which confirmed its participation but has yet to name its representatives.
Two diplomatic sources told AFP on Thursday the closed-door summit would take place in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
– Unity –
Rebuilding Gaza will be a central issue, as Trump linked reconstruction to his proposal for relocating its population. Cairo has yet to unveil its initiative, but former Egyptian diplomat Mohamed Hegazy outlined a three-phase plan spanning three to five years.
The first phase, lasting six months, would focus on “early recovery,” said Hegazy, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, a think tank closely connected to Cairo’s decision-making circles.
“Heavy machinery will be brought in to remove debris, while designated safe zones will be identified within Gaza to temporarily relocate residents,” Hegazy said.
The second phase would require an international conference to provide details of reconstruction and would focus on rebuilding utility infrastructure, he said.
“The final phase will oversee the urban planning of Gaza, the construction of housing units, and the provision of educational and healthcare services.”
The United Nations estimated on Tuesday that rebuilding would cost more than $53 billion, including more than $20 billion in the first three years.
The last phase would include “launching a political track to implement the two-state solution and so that there is… an incentive for a sustainable truce”.
Karim said the success of the plan would require “a degree of Arab unity not seen before in decades”.
– Financial challenge –
An Arab diplomat familiar with the Gulf affairs told AFP: “The biggest challenge facing the Egyptian plan is how to finance it.
“Some countries like Kuwait will inject funds, perhaps for humanitarian reasons, but other Gulf states will set specific conditions before any financial transfer.”
Karim said the “Saudis and Emiratis won’t spend any money if (the) Qataris and Egyptians don’t guarantee something on Hamas”.
Egypt’s plan seeks to address the complex issue of post-war oversight for Gaza, which Hamas has controlled since 2007, with “a Palestinian administration that is not aligned with any faction”.
It will comprise “experts” and will not be “factionally affiliated and is politically and legally subordinate to the Palestinian Authority”, Hegazy said.
The Cairo initiative also envisions a Palestinian Authority-affiliated police force supplemented with security forces from Egypt, Arab states and other countries.
Differences remain, however.
Hegazy said Hamas “will retreat from the political scene in the coming period”, while the Saudi source said Riyadh envisions a Gaza Strip controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
Qatar, a key mediator in the war, insists Palestinians must decide Gaza’s future.
Read More: Malaysia, Egypt reject Trump’s plans to displace Palestinians in Gaza
“I think all regional actors understand that any alternative plan they propose cannot include Hamas in any form as presence of Hamas will make it unpalatable for the US administration and Israel,” Karim said.
“So overall some things within the Strip have to fundamentally change in order for this plan to at least have a chance.”