1 of 2 | Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi (C) poses for a photo with Arab leaders who are attending the emergency Arab summit at the New Administrative Capital, east of Cairo, on Tuesday. Photo by Royal Hashemite Court/EPA-EFE
BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 4 (UPI) -- Arab leaders on Tuesday adopted Egypt's $53 billion-plan for the reconstruction of war-devastated Gaza Strip and called on the U.N. Security Council to deploy international peacekeeping forces in the West Bank and Gaza.
The leaders also rejected at the end of their one-day summit meeting in Cairo "sinful attempts" to displace the Palestinians or annex any part of their occupied land, while they emphasized their "strategic choice" for a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution.
According to the summit's final communique, the leaders decided to adopt Egypt's Gaza plan as "a comprehensive Arab plan" and urged the international community and international and regional financing institutions to "quickly provide the necessary support."
The plan came in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's vision of taking over Gaza, rebuilding it by relocating permanently its inhabitants and turning it into a "Middle East Riviera."
The Arab endorsed plan includes a six-month recovery phase during which temporary housing will be provided for 1.5 million displaced Gazans at seven sites inside the Strip, to be followed by two stages of reconstruction.
The first phase will take two years and cost $20 billion, while the second phase will last 2 1/2 years and cost $30 billion. The entire process is expected to run until 2030.
"All these efforts are proceeding in parallel with the launch of a political path for a permanent and just solution with the aim of achieving the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish their state and live in peace and security," the final statement said.
It also welcomed the Palestinian decision to form a Gaza Administration Committee for a transitional period, while working to enable the National Authority to return to Gaza where "security must be managed by legitimate Palestinian institutions alone."
Egypt and Jordan were to train Palestinian police forces to preserve security in the war-torn Strip.
There was no mention in the communique of the Hamas movement that, some of its officials said, refuses to relinquish weapons.
The Arab leaders called on the Security Council to deploy international peacekeeping forces that would contribute to "achieving security" for Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, within "the context of strengthening the political horizon" for establishing a Palestinian state.
They expressed readiness to engage immediately with the U.S. administration "to resume peace negotiations in order to reach a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue" by ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, "to live in security and peace alongside Israel."
Otherwise, the region will plunge into "a new phase of conflicts" that would extend to other countries in the region, they said.
Gaza reconstruction and the region's stability could not be achieved unless the Hamas-Israel cease-fire agreement is completed in its second and third phases "in a way that leads to a permanent cessation of aggression on Gaza and Israel's complete withdrawal from the Strip, including from the Philadelphi axis," the leaders said.
They condemned Israel's recent decision to stop the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and to close the crossings used for relief work, stressing that these measures constitute a violation of the ceasefire agreement and international law.
They rejected "Israel's use of the weapon of siege and starvation of civilians in an attempt to achieve political goals."
Moreover, they welcomed Palestinian Authority's reform efforts to "build strong and sustainable institutions" and hold legislative and presidential elections as soon as possible.
Earlier Tuesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said during the summit's opening session that the Gaza plan "preserves the right of the Palestinian people in rebuilding their homeland and guarantees their stay on their land."
Al-Sisi said the "fierce" Israeli war on Gaza was meant to "empty" the Strip from inhabitants by force and highlighted the "steadfastness and determination" of the Palestinian people "to hold on their land and recover their rights."
He said Egypt has worked with "the brothers in Palestine" to form an administrative committee of Palestinian independent and professional technocrats to run the Gaza Strip and supervise relief operations for a temporary period to prepare for the return of the Palestinian Authority.
Egypt also was working on training Palestinian security cadres that would be tasked with preserving security inside Gaza during the coming period, he said. Jordan also was involved in the training process.
Al-Sisi said the reconstruction plan should have a parallel process for a peace plan to be supported by the international community and the countries in the region to achieve "a just, comprehensive and lasting settlement" of the Palestinian cause.
He called on "all free and friendly countries to support this process" by taking part in a reconstruction conference that Egypt will host next month.
"There will be no genuine peace without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and guarantees to preserve Israel's security," he said.
He expressed confidence that Trump "is capable" of supporting an effective political process to achieve "a just solution."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas praised Egypt's Gaza plan, completely rejecting calls for displacing the Palestinians from their homeland.
Abbas said the summit was taking place at a time "serious challenges" were threatening the Palestinian cause, and he called on the Arab leaders to support the plan for the reconstruction of Gaza "with our people remaining in their land."
He emphasized the need for the Palestinian Authority to assume its responsibilities in the Strip and intensify efforts to strengthen unity among Palestinian factions.
Jordan's King Abdullah strongly rejected "all attempts to displace Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and annex the lands" in blatant violation of international laws.
Abdallah confirmed his country's support of the Gaza reconstruction plan and said that "the two-state solution is the only way to achieve a just and comprehensive peace that would guarantee the establishment of an independent Palestinian state ... with East Jerusalem as its capital."
"This provides a comprehensive political horizon to establish stability in the region and spare its people further conflicts," he added.
Addressing the Arab leaders, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said their summit was "an important signal that the world has a collective responsibility to support efforts to end this war, relieve profound human suffering and secure lasting peace."
Guterres called for avoiding "at all costs" the resumption of hostilities that would plunge "the millions back into an abyss of suffering and further destabilize the region."
He emphasized that ending the immediate crisis was not enough as there is a need for a clear political framework that lays the foundation for Gaza's "recovery, reconstruction and lasting stability."
He called for addressing "Israel's legitimate security concerns" but "that should not be through long-term Israeli military presence in Gaza."
The U.N. chief stressed that the Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves and that the "only path to lasting peace is one where two states -- Israel and Palestine -- live side by side in peace and security, in line with international law and relevant U.N. resolutions, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states."
