The National Times - Arab leaders gather to hash out alternative to Trump's Gaza plan

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 Gazans.

UN estimates have put the cost of Gaza's reconstruction at more than $53 billion, after a devastating war triggered by Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Arab foreign ministers met in the Egyptian capital on Monday for a closed-door preparatory session centred on a plan to rebuild the territory without displacing its people, a source at the Arab League told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The source said the plan "would be presented to Arab leaders at Tuesday's summit for approval".

The heads of state of several Arab nations are expected to attend, while some countries sent foreign ministers or other high-level representatives.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa are expected to deliver opening remarks, according to a scheduled shared by the Arab League.

Trump triggered global outrage when he first floated his idea for the United States to "take over" the Gaza Strip and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East", while forcing its Palestinian residents to relocate to Egypt and Jordan.

Trump has since appeared to soften his stance, saying he was "not forcing" the plan, which experts have said could violate international law.

- Ceasefire impasse -

The Gaza Strip has been under a crippling Israeli-led blockade since Hamas took power there in 2007, with critics of Israel often likening the territory to an open-air prison.

In a speech to parliament Monday in which he hailed Trump's plan, Netanyahu said: "It's time to give the residents of Gaza a real choice. It's time to give them the freedom to leave."

The idea of clearing Gaza of its inhabitants has been welcomed by far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has called for Israel to "establish full sovereignty there".

The Cairo summit is taking place as Israel and Hamas find themselves at an impasse over the future of a fragile ceasefire that began on January 19.

The first phase of the Gaza truce ended over the weekend, after six weeks of relative calm that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and an influx of badly needed aid into the territory.

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.

Netanyahu on Monday warned Hamas "there will be consequences that you cannot imagine" if the dozens of hostages still held by militants were not released.

A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, accused Israel of actively sabotaging the ceasefire, calling its push for an extension "a blatant attempt to... avoid entering into negotiations for the second phase".

- Aid block -

As the truce's first phase came to a close, Netanyahu's office announced Israel 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.

The move drew criticism from key truce mediators Egypt and Qatar, as well as from other regional governments, the United Nations and some of Israel's allies.

Germany's foreign ministry said that denying humanitarian access "is not a legitimate means of pressure in negotiations", while Britain said aid "must not be blocked".

The war has destroyed or damaged most buildings in Gaza, displaced almost the entire population and triggered widespread hunger, according to the UN.

The Hamas 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians, while Israel's military retaliation in Gaza has killed nearly 48,400 people, also mostly civilians, data from both sides show.

Of the 251 captives taken during the attack, 58 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.

C.Stevenson--TNT