Arab leaders have urged the international community to finance their Gaza Strip’s reconstruction plan after US President Donald Trump reiterated a proposal to take over Palestinian territory.
A summit of the Arab League held on Saturday in Baghdad said in her final declaration that she had urged “international and regional countries and financial institutions to provide rapid financial support” to support her Gaza reconstruction plan.
“This genocide (in Gaza) has reached an unprecedented level of ugliness in all the conflicts in history,” said Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in his opening speech at the 34th Arab Summit, which was dominated by The Israel genocide in Gaza.
He said Iraq had argued the creation of an “Arab fund to support reconstruction efforts”, adding that Iraq will contribute $ 20 million to the fund and $ 20 million for Lebanon, which was also in conflict with Israel.
The Iraqi Prime Minister said Baghdad rejects “the forced displacement of the Palestinians”, calling for the “massacres in Gaza, attacks against the West Bank and the occupied territories at the end”.
“We have called and continue to call, for a serious and responsible Arab action to save Gaza and reactivate UNRWA,” he said, referring to the United Nations Palestinian Aid.
The talks on Saturday in the Iraqi capital only took place after Trump ended his tour in the Middle East, triggering the hope of a ceasefire and the renewal of the delivery of aid to Gaza.
‘Carnage that takes place in Gaza’
United Nations Antonio Guterres and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez – who strongly criticized the Israel genocide in Gaza – were guests at the top.
“We need a permanent cease-fire now, the unconditional release of hostages now and the free flow of humanitarian aid ending the blockade now,” Guterres said.
Spain Sanchez said that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza should end “immediately and without delay”.
“Palestine and Spain are working on a new project to present to the United Nations, where we ask Israel to end the unjust humanitarian headquarters posed in Gaza and allow the unconditional delivery of Gaza aid,” he said.
He also said that there should be “more pressure on Israel to end the carnage in Gaza by all imaginable means, namely the tools available under international law”.
“And here, I would like to announce that Spain will present a proposal to the General Assembly for the International Criminal Court to examine the respect of Israel for the delivery of aid to Gaza,” added the Spanish Prime Minister.
In March, Israel ended a ceasefire reached with Hamas in January, renewing deadly attacks across Gaza and forcing a blockade of food and other essential items. In recent days, Israel has intensified its offensive because tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to die of hunger.
At a preparatory meeting at the Arab League Summit, Iraqi Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, said they would try to have the decisions that were taken at Cairo in March approved to support the reconstruction of Gaza as an alternative to Trump’s largely condemned proposal to take control of the enclave.
During his visit to Qatar, Trump reiterated Thursday that he wanted the United States to “take” Gaza and transform it into “zone of freedom”. Earlier this year, he caused a tumult by declaring that the United States would transform Gaza into “Riviera du Middle East”, inciting Arab leaders to propose a plan to rebuild the territory, at a summit in Cairo.
The Arab Plan for Gaza proposes to rebuild the Palestinian enclave without moving its 2.4 million residents.
Besides Gaza, Arab officials also discussed Syria, which only six months ago entered a new chapter in its history after the fall of the longtime sovereign Bashar al-Assad.
Earlier this week, Trump in Riyadh met the acting president of Syria, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, whose group led the offensive that overthrew al-Assad last December. Before their meeting, he also announced that American sanctions against Syria will be lifted in a huge boost to the Damascus government.
Al-Sharaa, who was imprisoned for years in Iraq to belong to Al-Qaeda after the invasion led by the United States of 2003, however, missed the Baghdad summit after several powerful Iraqi politicians expressed their opposition to his visit. Syrian Minister for Foreign Affairs Asaad Al-Shaibani rather represented Damascus.
The summit on Saturday also came in the middle of the nuclear nuclear in Iran with the United States. Trump continued diplomacy with Iran as he seeks to avoid a military strike threatened by Israel on Iran, a desire shared by many leaders in the region.
Trump said on Thursday that an agreement “approached”, but on Friday he warns that “something bad was going to happen” if the Iranians do not move quickly.
Iraq has only recently found a semblance of normality after decades of devastating conflicts and troubles, and its leaders consider the summit as an opportunity to project an image of stability.
Reporting from Baghdad, the Mahmoud Abdelwahed of Tel Aviv Tribune said that the summit was “very crucial” for Iraq.
“This is the first time that the summit has been taking place in Iraq since 2012 and Iraq has taken it as a credit to regain its rule as a player to fill the gap between the member states of the Arab League,” he said.
