Doctor Khaled Mohammed Abu Jari, 57, (C-L) head of the critical care department at the Beit Hanoun Hospital, has his fast-breaking iftar meal with his family outside their tent in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. AFP
Unlike the Trump plan, the Arab proposal aims to rebuild Gaza without displacing the territory's 2.4 million inhabitants, who endured more than 15 months of the Israeli genocidal war on the Palestinian territory before a fragile ceasefire took effect on 19 January.
"The European Union welcomes the Arab Recovery and Reconstruction Plan presented at the Cairo Summit on 4 March that was also adopted by the OIC. This plan represents a serious basis for discussions on the future of the Gaza Strip, and the EU will discuss these ideas with its Arab partners," a statement issued on Sunday said.
"Any plan for the future of Gaza must provide credible solutions for reconstruction, governance, and security. Recovery and reconstruction efforts must be based upon a solid political and security framework acceptable to both Israelis and Palestinians, which provides peace and security to both sides," the EU added.
The EU also said that there must be no future role for Hamas in Gaza and that Hamas "will no longer be a threat to Israel." The 28-state bloc added that it will continue political and financial support to the Palestinian Authority and its reform programme "to help it prepare for its return to govern Gaza."
The EU finally called for "the full implementation of the ceasefire-hostage release agreement, leading to the release of all the hostages and a permanent end to hostilities."
This comes a day after Britain, France, Germany and Italy gave their backing in a joint statement by their foreign ministers, hailing the Arab Plan as a "realistic path" for rebuilding war-torn Gaza without uprooting its Palestinian inhabitants.
The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also formally adopted the Arab plan for Gaza at an emergency meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, shortly after the Arab League ratified it at a summit in Cairo.
The Egyptian-crafted plan, an alternative to Trump's widely condemned takeover, proposes to rebuild the Gaza Strip under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority.
It urges "the international community and international and regional funding institutions to swiftly provide the necessary support".
Trump triggered global outrage when he suggested the US "take over" Gaza and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East" while forcing its Palestinian inhabitants to relocate to Egypt or Jordan.
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