Heavy construction equipment is lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on February 13, 2025. AFP
The Arab leaders described Israel’s US-backed displacement scheme unequivocally as a crime of ethnic cleansing and genocide against the Palestinian people.
The summit was also a message of support for the position of Egypt and Jordan in standing up to US President Donald Trump’s bizarre plans to compel them to accept two million displaced Gazans on their land.
Since he started his second term on 21 January, Trump has been doubling down on his proposal for the relocation of the Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan and for the US to take over “long-term ownership” of the enclave and turn it into a “Riviera of the Middle East”. Trump’s proposal was quickly espoused and welcomed by the extremist Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu who insisted, on the day after the war in Gaza, there will be no Hamas and no Palestinian Authority there and that he was committed to Trump’s plan to create “a different Gaza and reshape the Middle East.”
The summit also confirmed Egypt’s pioneering and leading role in the Arab world as the summit’s leaders endorsed the Egyptian plan to rebuild Gaza without relocating its residents to neighbouring countries, countering Trump’s idea to redevelop the Strip under US control after displacing its Palestinian residents. Egypt had invited Arab leaders to this summit out of a sense of national responsibility and historical obligation towards the Palestinian people and their right to an independent state. Media reports show that Egypt’s plan aims to sideline Hamas and replace it with interim bodies controlled by Arab, Muslim, and Western states.
Under the Egyptian plan, a Governance Assistance Mission would replace the Hamas-run government in Gaza and be responsible for humanitarian aid and kick-starting reconstruction of the enclave, which was devastated by the war. The plan envisions an international Stabilisation Force drawn primarily from Arab states that would take over the role of providing security from Hamas, with the eventual establishment of a new local police force. Both security and governance bodies would be “arranged, guided and supervised” by a steering board. The draft said the board would comprise key Arab states, members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the United States, Britain, the European Union and its member states, and others.
Ahead of the summit, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty stressed the need for the Palestinian Authority (PA) to return to carry out its duties and responsibilities in the Gaza Strip. Following a meeting with the prime minister and foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority Mohamed Mostafa on Monday, Abdelatty said Egypt will train Palestinian police forces to be deployed in Gaza as part of the reconstruction plan. Be that as it may, the Arab Summit ended up with issuing three Nos: no to displacing the Palestinians from Gaza, no to Israeli control of the Strip, and no to Hamas maintaining control of Gaza.
However, the question now looming large is whether Hamas will agree to relinquish control of Gaza, whether it will do so voluntarily or under growing external and internal pressure. Some Hamas leaders have lately said their Islamist-oriented movement is open to the idea of stepping down from power, but all reject the proposal that Hamas should disarm.
In fact, Hamas should put the interests of the Palestinian people in Gaza above any considerations. Hamas should realise that its attack on Israel on 7 October, 2023 has brought about disaster for the Palestinian people, whether in Gaza or in the West Bank. It should also know that no international force or Arab country will financially contribute to reconstructing Gaza as long as it remains in power there.
At the same time the extremist government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should take into account that its new threats for returning to war to eliminate Hamas will only complicate the situation. Netanyahu’s threats will only shed more Palestinian blood and cause a new genocide against the residents of the enclave.
Despite all the destructive weapons he received from the Trump administration, Netanyahu should understand that negotiation, not war, is the only way to release hostages and that this is the only way to bring peace and security to the Israeli people. For its part, the Trump administration should respond positively to the Arab Summit and the Egyptian plan. The White House said on Sunday that the US will support whatever action Israel takes. But instead of giving more military support to Israel, Trump should pressure Netanyahu to accept negotiations and start implementing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 6 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
Short link: