The Arab League's plan for Gaza

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Arab leaders have endorsed a reconstruction plan for Gaza that would see Palestinians remaining in the enclave, opposing Donald Trump’s controversial “Middle East Riviera” plan.

“Gaza 2030” was put forward by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and approved at an emergency summit of the Arab League in Cairo on Tuesday, with the group’s secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit announcing: “The Egypt plan is now an Arab plan.”

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What is the Arab plan?

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Who is backing it?

El-Sisi said the plan had won the “consensus” of the Arab League, which comprises 22 nations from North Africa, the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. However, the extent of the region’s support “remains uncertain”, said CNN. The leaders of both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two of the group’s wealthiest and most powerful nations, were absent and sent representatives instead.

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What do Palestinians think of it?

Support came, too, from Palestinian Authority President Abbas, who claimed he was ready to hold elections in Gaza within a year “provided that the appropriate conditions are met”, said France24. The Authority is internationally recognised as the only legitimate government of the State of Palestine, although since its displacement from Gaza in 2007 by Hamas forces its power extends only to the West Bank.

How likely is it to succeed?

Implementing the plan will be “immensely challenging”, said The Washington Post. Some of the wealthy Gulf states being expected to “pick up the tab” for the reconstruction are wary that the money could end up going to Hamas, or being “misused” by the Palestinian Authority. In addition, said the BBC, investors will want to know the buildings they help finance are safe from another war, with the current “fragile ceasefire” only adding to their concerns.

Nor does the plan have the backing of two of the situation’s major players: the US and Israel. They both say the proposals fail to address the realities of the situation in Gaza and that they stand by Trump’s vision. Arab states had not given the plan a “fair chance”, said the Israeli foreign ministry, arguing this was a chance for the people of Gaza “to have free choice based on their free will” and “should be encouraged”.

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