The summit on Gaza, which convened in Cairo on 4 March, secured Arab support, in principle at least, for plans for the reconstruction and governance of Gaza after Israel’s15-month war reduced vast swathes of the Strip to rubble.
In the days that followed the summit, the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held a ministerial meeting on Gaza at its Jeddah headquarters and announced its backing of the plan endorsed by the Arab League. In parallel, Spain came forward with a vote of confidence, followed by France, the UK, Italy, and Germany. In a joint statement, the four countries said the plan was “realistic”.
This show of support came despite Israel and the US rejecting the plan within hours of it being put forward last Tuesday. The statements issued by the White House and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came as no surprise. They were expected, according to two diplomats who argued it was never likely that Washington would promptly accept a plan offered as an alternative to a proposal made by US President Donald Trump. Nor is “Netanyahu looking for answers or political solutions”. Instead, “he is managing the situation to serve his political agenda so there are no surprises there,” said one of the diplomats.
Both diplomats argued that the support from the OIC and leading European capitals was intended to send a message to both the US and Israel about where the world stands. They pointed out that an intensive diplomatic lobbying scheme is already in motion to expand the volume of support and start a process of engagement with the US on the issue.
A joint Arab League-OIC ministerial committee is expected to visit Washington this spring to meet with concerned members of the US administration, Congress, and think tanks to promote the Egyptian plan. According to an informed Egyptian political source, Cairo is aware that the plan could be subject to some amendments “away from the core point of starting the reconstruction and new governance process without having Gazans displaced away from their land.”
Earlier this year, Trump said he wanted Egypt and Jordan to host Gazans as the narrow Palestinian Strip is turned into a tourism hub. Palestinians, Egypt, and Jordan promptly declined the proposal. Several European and African countries also spoke against the plan.
Trump’s proposal was immediately welcomed by Israel. Only this week, Israel’s extremist minister of finance said that he is working on a detailed plan to secure the full displacement of all Gazans, and Israeli settler leaders arrived in Washington to lobby support on the Capitol for Trump’s proposal.
According to the Egyptian political source, “Israel is lobbying hard, but we are lobbying too.” He added that while Egypt and Jordan are particularly invested in the lobbying process, other Arab countries are “working to convince Trump to drop his proposal”.
“The Saudis are on board. They have some views on the future administration of Gaza, but that does not mean they accept the displacement plan.”
The source added that while the visit of US Secretary-of-State Marco Rubio to Saudi Arabia will address preparations for a summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine, “the issue of Gaza will inevitably come up.” He noted the ministerial delegation’s visit to Washington expected to take place within weeks will be chaired by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and “we are closely coordinating with the Saudis.”
Cairo is also working with the UN to prepare for a conference on the reconstruction of Gaza that Egypt plans to host within weeks. The conference, say diplomats, will likely take place following the Arab League-OIC ministerial visit to Washington. While in Cairo for the extraordinary summit on Gaza, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed commitment to work with Cairo on the conference. The UN chief had previously decried Trump’s proposal for the displacement of Gazans.
This week, a senior Hamas delegation was in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials on the fate of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The first phase of the ceasefire, which went into effect on 19 January, expired on 1 March. Israel has so far refused to start talks on the second phase of the three-part deal.
“The Israelis say they want to extend the first phase before moving to the second phase. They are stalling, as was expected. We are trying to find a compromise,” the political source said. Hamas, he added, is protesting against violations of the terms of the agreement.
“What we are trying to do is to find a way to keep the process going to avoid giving Netanyahu a pretext to restart attacks on Gaza.”
During the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 24 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight that Hamas said had died during the Israeli war on Gaza. In return, Hamas secured the release of hundreds of Palestinians from Israeli jails, including some with life sentences. Many of the released Palestinians had to leave the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Some are already in Egypt. It is not clear whether they will remain or eventually move to other destinations.
While phase one of the ceasefire, reached in the closing days of the Joe Biden administration, does not firmly preclude Israeli operations, in the second phase Israel was supposed to agree to a permanent ceasefire, allowing for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages and the bodies of those killed in return for more Palestinian prisoners.
According to an informed regional diplomat, whatever Netanyahu’s ultimate intentions, he is in no position to start phase two of the deal before the end of this month.
“Netanyahu needs to get his budget passed by the Knesset. If the budget is not passed, his coalition will collapse and there will have to be elections.” The diplomat added that if he agreed to start phase two, it is likely more hardliners would quit, bringing down Netanyahu’s coalition and again necessitating elections.
Meanwhile, US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit the region for a tour delayed from last month, scheduled to include Egypt, Israel, and Qatar.
In recent days, Qatar has hosted direct talks between Hamas and the US that aim to find a quick solution to the situation of hostages with dual American citizenship. Adam Boehler, the US hostage envoy, has said the talks could produce a deal but will take a few weeks.
According to the political source in Cairo, these talks show there is always room to engage the Americans on solutions and compromises.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 13 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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