Abbas says PA ready to run Gaza as Arab leaders discuss reconstruction / Photo: Bashar TALEB - AFP
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Abbas says PA ready to run Gaza as Arab leaders discuss reconstruction
Mahmud Abbas said his Palestinian Authority was ready to reassume control over Gaza, as Arab leaders in Cairo on Tuesday hammered out a plan for rebuilding the devastated territory to counter a widely condemned proposal by US President Donald Trump.
The prospect of the PA governing Gaza was far from certain, however, with Israel having ruled out any future role for the body, and Trump having closed the Palestine Liberation Organization liaison office in Washington during his first term while stepping up support for Israel.
Shortly after returning to power in January, Trump triggered global outrage by suggesting the United States "take over" the Gaza Strip and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East", while forcing its Palestinian inhabitants to relocate to Egypt or Jordan.
Tuesday's Arab League summit in Cairo aimed to offer an alternative to that vision, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Trump plan "visionary and innovative".
In his opening remarks on Tuesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said his country's plan for Gaza would ensure Palestinians "remain on their land", but was careful not to criticise Trump.
Calling for "a serious and effective political process that leads to a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause", he added: "I am confident that President Trump is capable of doing that."
Sisi said that under the Egyptian plan, Gaza would be run by a committee of Palestinian technocrats, "paving the way for the return of the Palestinian Authority to the Strip".
Abbas, also addressing the summit, said a working committee had been formed to prepare for the PA resuming its role in Gaza and taking up security "responsibilities after restructuring and unifying its cadres present in the Gaza Strip and training them in Egypt and Jordan".
The PA had previously governed Gaza before losing power there in 2007 to Islamist militant group Hamas -- whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the latest war in the territory.
- Draft plan -
Palestinians, Arab states and many European governments have rejected Trump's proposal for US control of Gaza, opposing any efforts to expel its people.
Trump has recently appeared to soften his stance, saying he was "not forcing" the plan, which experts have said could violate international law.
A draft version of the Egyptian plan seen by AFP lays out a five-year roadmap with a price tag of $53 billion -- about the same amount the United Nations estimated Gaza's reconstruction would cost.
A proposed early recovery phase, expected to last six months and cost $3 billion, would focus on clearing unexploded ordnance and debris, and providing temporary housing, according to the draft.
That would be followed by a $20 billion initial reconstruction stage running until 2027 and focusing on rebuilding essential infrastructure and permanent housing.
The next stage of reconstruction, extending to 2030 at an estimated cost of $30 billion, aims to build more housing, infrastructure, and industrial and commercial facilities.
The plan proposes an internationally supervised trust fund to ensure efficient and sustainable financing, as well as transparency and oversight.
UN chief Antonio Guterres, who was also in Cairo on Tuesday, gave his strong endorsement to "the Arab-led initiative" to rebuild Gaza, adding the UN was prepared to "fully cooperate".
While several Arab heads of state participated Tuesday, de facto Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was notably absent, sending his top diplomat instead, state media said.
As far and away the Middle East's largest economy, Saudi Arabia's backing would be essential to any regional reconstruction effort.
- Ceasefire impasse -
Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has left the territory largely in ruins and created a dire humanitarian crisis that.
A fragile ceasefire since January saw an influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza, before Israel on Sunday announced it was blocking any deliveries.
"We look forward to an effective Arab role that ends the humanitarian tragedy... and thwarts the (Israeli) occupation's plans to displace" Palestinians, Hamas said in a statement as the Cairo summit was convening.
The talks are taking place as Israel and Hamas find themselves at an impasse over the future of the ceasefire.
The truce's first phase ended at the weekend, after six weeks of relative calm that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
While Israel said it backed an extension of the first phase until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the war.
Israel announced on Sunday that it was halting "all entry of goods and supplies" into Gaza, and that Hamas would face "other consequences" if it did not accept the truce extension.
Hours before the summit opened Tuesday, Israel's top diplomat Gideon Saar said it demanded the "total demilitarisation of Gaza" and Hamas's removal in order to proceed to the second phase of the ceasefire deal.
Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri rejected the demand, telling AFP: "The resistance's weapons are a red line for Hamas and all resistance factions."
W.Baert --JdB
