Türkiye, on Sunday, pointed to Egypt’s plan as a basis for the reconstruction efforts of Gaza.
Egypt’s Gaza plan, which is supported by all members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), offers a constructive framework, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in his address at the OIC and Arab League Gaza Contact Group meeting in Egypt’s capital Cairo, diplomatic sources said.
Stressing that genocide, forced displacement and apartheid are still continuing in Gaza while this meeting is in progress, Fidan said the Israeli airstrikes on March 18 revealed that Israel has a more comprehensive agenda.
Emphasizing that the prevention of the delivery of humanitarian aid and the targeting of Syrian and Lebanese territories are indicators of Israel’s insistence on this expansionist policy, Fidan said, “Peace is not possible in the region without stopping Israel.
“Our primary goal should be to stop the destruction in Gaza and achieve a permanent cease-fire. The pressure on Israel needs to be increased.”
Fidan said that platforms such as the United Nations should be utilized for an immediate and permanent cease-fire.
On March 4, an emergency Arab summit in Cairo adopted Egypt’s $53 billion reconstruction plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing Palestinians from their land.
The Arab proposal came after U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to “take over” Gaza and resettle more than 2 million Palestinians to develop it into what he called the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The plan was rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.
Israel is, however, pushing ahead with its plans to remove Gazans from their homeland.
Israel will establish a new administration to facilitate the “voluntary” departure of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Monday.
She said the Security Cabinet had approved a proposal by Defense Minister Israel Katz to set up an authority tasked with “preparing the voluntary departure of residents of the Gaza Strip to third countries in a safe and controlled manner.”
Katz instructed the military in February to draw up plans to implement Trump’s proposal for the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza.
The future for roughly 2.2 million Gazans is highly uncertain after Israel launched a fresh wave of attacks in the territory last week, effectively shattering a temporary cease-fire negotiated with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in January.
Hundreds have been killed since bombing resumed again, and people have been forced to flee again after enduring more than 17 months of war triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel.
Egypt has also made a new proposal last week aimed at restoring the Gaza cease-fire, security sources told Reuters on Monday.
The Egyptian plan suggests Hamas release five Israeli hostages each week, with Israel implementing the second phase of the cease-fire after the first week, the sources said.
Both the United States and Hamas agreed to the proposal, the security sources said, but Israel had not yet responded.
Be First to Comment