CAIRO: The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdelatty, said on Sunday that the Gaza reconstruction plan in Egypt, which guarantees that the Palestinians stay in their country, are ready and will be presented on Tuesday at an Arab emergency summit in Cairo.
The Arab states, which have been quick to reject President Donald Trump’s plan for the United States to take control of Gaza and reinstall the Palestinians, rush to agree on a diplomatic offensive to counter the idea.
Trump’s plan, announced on February 4 in the middle of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, seemed to withdraw from long-standing policy from the Middle East to the United States focused on a two-state solution and sparked the anger of the Palestinians and the Arab countries.
Abdeatty said that Egypt would seek international support and financing of the plan and emphasized the crucial role of Europe, in particular in the financing of the reconstruction of Gaza.
“We will organize intensive talks with the main donor countries once the plan has been adopted at the next Arab summit,” he said at a press conference with the EU Commissioner in the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica.
Israel blocked the entry of Gaza aid trucks on Sunday while an impasse on the truce that has interrupted the fights in the past six weeks has intensified. Abdeatty said that the use of aid as a collective punishment could not be authorized.
The first phase of the fragile ceasefire agreement expired this weekend. Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to the ceasefire initially agreed which was to go to a second phase. “It will be difficult, but with good will and political determination, it can be achieved,” he said.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that he had adopted an American proposal for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the periods of Ramadan and Passover.
Abdeatty said that after Tuesday’s summit, foreign ministers for the member states of the Islamic cooperation organization will hold an urgent meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss the way to present the plans.
“We will ensure that the results of the Arabic summit are presented in the world in the best possible way,” he said.
