Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Sunday (Mar 2) that the Egyptian Gaza reconstruction plan is ready and will be presented to the emergency Arab summit on March 4. The plan ensures Palestinians remain in their land.

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Arab states have rejected US President Donald Trump’s idea to take over Gaza and resettle Palestinians and have agreed upon a diplomatic offensive to counter his plan.

Trump announced the plan on February 4 amid the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, infuriating Palestinians and Arab nations and upending decades of US diplomacy focused on a two-state solution.

According to Abdelatty, the counter-reconstruction plan by Egypt will not just be Egyptian or Arab but will attract global support and funding to ensure its successful implementation.

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Also read | Israel ‘fully coordinated’ with Trump to extend phase one of Gaza ceasefire for 50 days, says Netanyahu

“We will hold intensive talks with major donor countries once the plan is adopted at the upcoming Arab Summit,” Abdelatty said at a news conference with the European Union Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica.

He added that Europe’s role is critical, especially in economic aspects, to rebuild the war-torn region.

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On the ceasefire deal, Abdelatty said that Egypt will continue its efforts to make sure the truce is maintained and negotiations for the second phase of the deal can start.

“The first phase has concluded successfully, and now we must shift to discussions on the second phase, which is key to sustaining the ceasefire,” he said.

“Naturally, it will be difficult, but with goodwill and political determination, it can be achieved.”

Abdelatty said that after the emergency Arab Summit takes place, an urgent ministerial meeting in Saudi Arabia for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation will be held where foreign ministers will present the summit’s outcomes globally.

Also read | Warnings of famine risk in Gaza ‘a lie’, says Israel as it suspends aid into Gaza over ceasefire extension

“We will ensure that the results of the Arab summit are presented to the world in the best possible way,” Abdelatty added.

Cairo proposes two-week extension of first truce phase

Qatari-owned newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, citing Egyptian sources, reported that Cairo has proposed to Israel and Hamas to extend the first phase of the ceasefire by two weeks. This will include the release of six Israeli hostages.

However, The Times of Israel reported that an Israeli official said he has no knowledge of such a proposal.

“We aren’t familiar with anything like that,” the official told The Times of Israel.

(With inputs from agencies)