Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Sunday that Egypt's Gaza reconstruction plan, which ensures Palestinians remain in their land, is ready and will be presented at an emergency Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday.
Arab states, which were swift to reject President Donald Trump's plan for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and resettle Palestinians, are scrambling to agree on a diplomatic offensive to counter the idea.
Trump's plan, announced on Feb. 4 amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group, appeared to back away from long-standing U.S. Middle East policy focused on a two-state solution and sparked anger among Palestinians and Arab nations.
Abdelatty said Egypt would seek international backing and funding for the plan and emphasized Europe's crucial role, particularly in the financing of Gaza's reconstruction.
"We will hold intensive talks with major donor countries once the plan is adopted at the upcoming Arab [League] summit," he said in a press conference with the EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica.
Israel on Sunday blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza as a standoff over the truce that has halted fighting for the past six weeks escalated. Abdelatty said the use of aid as a weapon of collective punishment could not be permitted.
The first phase of the fragile ceasefire agreement expired this weekend.
Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to the originally agreed ceasefire that had been scheduled to move into a second phase.
"It will be difficult, but with goodwill and political determination, it can be achieved," he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said earlier that it had adopted a U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover periods.
Abdelatty said after Tuesday's summit, foreign ministers of member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation would hold an urgent meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss how to present the plans.
"We will ensure that the results of the Arab summit are presented to the world in the best possible way," he said.
The current conflict began when Hamas killed 1,200 people and captured about 250 hostages in their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the territory's health ministry, with about half being women and children.
