The plan of Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sissi for Gaza against the American proposal to take control of the enclave.
The Arab leaders approved an Egyptian plan for the reconstruction of Gaza upset by the war which would allow its residents to stay on the territory, said Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sissi.
During the Cairo meeting on Tuesday, the regional leaders approved the counter-proposition of the plan of the American president Donald Trump to expel 2.3 million residents of Gaza and to redevelop the Palestinian territory.
The participants of the summit included the emir of Qatar, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia. The United Nations Secretary General Antonios Guterres also participated.
The Egyptian plan includes an initial recovery phase aimed at disintegrating the territory and providing temporary housing, followed by a longer reconstruction phase focused on the reconstruction of essential infrastructure, according to media relationships.
The other key questions about the future of Gaza understand that will governed the enclave and which countries will provide the billions of dollars necessary for the reconstruction of the devastated territory.
El-Sissi said that Egypt had worked in cooperation with the Palestinians on the creation of an administrative committee of independent and professional Palestinian technocrats entrusted to the governance of Gaza.
The Committee would be responsible for monitoring humanitarian aid and management of the Gaza Strip’s business for a temporary period, in preparation for the return of the Palestinian Authority (PA), he said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who directed the AP, said that he had welcomed the Egyptian idea and urged Trump to support such a plan that would not imply the Palestinian residents.
Abbas, in power since 2005, also said that he was ready to organize presidential and parliamentary elections if the circumstances allowed, adding that his PA was the only legitimate government and the military force in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Hamas said it rejected any solution imposed on the Gaza Strip by foreigners.
“We are impatiently awaiting an effective Arab role which puts an end to the humanitarian tragedy created by the occupation in the Gaza Strip … and thwarts the plans of the occupation (Israelis) to move (Palestinians),” the group said on Tuesday in a statement.
Any proposal would require strong membership in oil -rich Arab states such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which have the billions of dollars necessary to deploy the plan.
Gaza Truce expires
The extraordinary summit occurs days after the expiration of the first phase of the ceasefire of Israel-Hamas in Gaza. Israel has denied the terms of the agreement by refusing to embark on phase two negotiations, rather pushing for an extension of the first phase of the agreement.
Israel announced on Sunday that it would stop the entry of humanitarian aid and other supplies to Gaza and have introduced a new cease-fire proposal which, she said, was supported by the United States.
During the 42 days of the first phase, 25 live captives and the remains of eight dead captives were returned to Israel in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
All the remaining live captives had to be released in a second phase of the ceasefire, but Hamas and Israel are in a dead end on how to extend the truce.
Under the new Israeli proposal, Hamas would be required to release half of its remaining captives in exchange for a cease-fire extension and a promise to negotiate a sustainable truce. Israel has made no mention to publish more Palestinian prisoners – a key element of the first phase.
Hamas accused Israel of having tried to sabotage the existing agreement, which asked the two parties to negotiate the return of the remaining captives in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a sustainable ceasefire. But no substantive negotiations took place.
