Arab leaders gather to hash out alternative to Trump’s Gaza plan
Arab leaders are gathering in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss an alternative to a widely condemned plan from US President Donald Trump to assume control of war-battered Gaza and displace its Palestinian population.
The Arab League summit on the territory’s reconstruction comes a day after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu again gave his backing to Trump’s plan, calling it “visionary and innovative”.
Palestinians, along with the Arab world and many of Israel and the United States’ partners, have condemned Trump’s proposal, rejecting any efforts to expel Palestinians in Gaza.
UN estimates have put the cost of Gaza’s reconstruction at more than $53bn (£42bn), after a devastating war triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Key events
Israeli minister who supports annexing occupied West Bank to visit US
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who supports the annexation of the occupied West Bank, said on Tuesday that he was travelling to the United States for a brief visit.
“The goal of this visit is to strengthen economic cooperation between Israel and the United States… and deepen the strategic alliance between our two countries,” Smotrich wrote on social media platform X.
His trip comes with US President Donald Trump expected to announce whether to back the annexation of all or part of the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
Smotrich, an ultranationalist settler whose support is key to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s parliamentary majority, said he would meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as well as other US government officials.
He has said on several occasions since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack triggered war that Israel should push for Palestinians to leave Gaza and the West Bank, and that it should take control of them.
The first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza expired over the weekend – and now, the only thing stopping the resumption of Israel’s assault on the territory is the will of Benjamin Netanyahu. That is the bleak reality for the hostages still alive in Gaza, and the Palestinian civilians there who were subjected to a new aid embargo on Sunday. Last night, the Israeli government was reported to be planning to ratchet the blockade up further – with a programme of measures referred to as the “hell plan”.
In today’s newsletter: With talks stalled, aid blocked and a truce in question, can the path to peace get back on track? Read our full breifing for Tuesday here:
Israel this week introduced what it said was a new US ceasefire plan – different from the one it agreed to in January – and is trying to force Hamas to accept it by imposing a siege on the Gaza Strip, AP reporters explain.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to it as the “Witkoff proposal,” saying it came from U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff. But the White House has yet to confirm that, saying only that it supports whatever action Israel takes.
Netanyahu’s remarks came a day after the first phase of the negotiated ceasefire ended, with no clarity on what would come next since the agreement’s second phase has not yet been hammered out.
The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages – the militant group’s main bargaining chip – in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners – a key component of the first phase.
Hamas has accused Israel of trying to sabotage the existing agreement, which called for the two sides to negotiate the return of the remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire. But no substantive negotiations have been held.
On Sunday, Israel halted all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza’s population of 2 million people and vowed “additional consequences” if Hamas did not embrace the new proposal.
Arab leaders are meanwhile finalizing a separate plan for postwar Gaza to counter Trump’s suggestion that its population be relocated so it can be transformed into a tourist destination.
But all bets are off if the war resumes.
Arab leaders gather to hash out alternative to Trump’s Gaza plan
Arab leaders are gathering in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss an alternative to a widely condemned plan from US President Donald Trump to assume control of war-battered Gaza and displace its Palestinian population.
The Arab League summit on the territory’s reconstruction comes a day after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu again gave his backing to Trump’s plan, calling it “visionary and innovative”.
Palestinians, along with the Arab world and many of Israel and the United States’ partners, have condemned Trump’s proposal, rejecting any efforts to expel Palestinians in Gaza.
UN estimates have put the cost of Gaza’s reconstruction at more than $53bn (£42bn), after a devastating war triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
