Eurasia Press & News
Latest Developments
Plan Calls for Palestinian State on 1967 Borders: Representatives from Arab League nations endorsed Egypt’s five-year plan to rebuild Gaza without resettling its residents during an emergency summit in Cairo on March 4. The plan includes three phases and will cost an estimated $53 billion. Egypt’s plan also stipulated that Gaza would be governed for six months by the Gaza Administration Committee — a group of technocrats that the plan claims would be unaffiliated with any factions — who will pave the way for a unified Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967, borders, with its capital in eastern Jerusalem, and governed by the Palestinian Authority (PA).
No Plan to Disarm Hamas: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi opened by stating the league’s end goal, saying that there “will be no true peace without the establishment of the Palestinian state.” The plan called for the establishment of a police force trained by Egypt and Jordan but did not detail how the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hamas and other terror groups inside Gaza would be disarmed. Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas leader, said that any talk of disarming the terrorist groups is “nonsense,” while Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded to the plan by saying that Hamas’s “terror regime in Gaza prevents any chance of security for Israel and its neighbors.”
Trump’s Plan Still in Play: The emergency summit came in response to President Donald Trump’s February 4 plan to rebuild Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” in which the United States would assume control of the coastal enclave. Trump’s plan, roundly condemned by Egypt and Arab states, calls for the voluntary relocation of most of Gaza’s residents. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on February 17 that he was “committed” to Trump’s plan. FDD Expert Response
“The Arab plan for Gaza is dead on arrival. It does not demand the disarmament of Hamas, the biggest hurdle to any post-war plan, and puts disarmament of Palestinian terrorist groups after the sought-after creation of a Palestinian state — which is contrary to how the two-state solution was conceived decades ago.” — Hussain Abdul-Hussain, Research Fellow
“The Arabs ‘never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity,’ as the late Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban famously said. This is yet another missed opportunity for the Arab League to shape not just post-war Gaza but the broader Middle East. The flaws are glaring: First, the plan repeatedly references a two-state solution, ignoring the realities of a post-October 7 political climate in Israel. Second, it fails to address the single most critical issue for Israel and the United States — the demilitarization of Hamas. And finally, it seeks to put the Palestinian Authority in control of Gaza despite its well-documented inefficacy and corruption.” — Mariam Wahba, Research Analyst
“Arab leaders had one mission: to appease Trump and kill his ‘Gaza Riviera’ plan by making it clear that Hamas has no future in Gaza — neither as a government nor as an armed force. Yet again, they couldn’t bring themselves to hold Hamas accountable for Gaza’s misery, nor did they send a strong message to Washington that Hamas’s reign of destruction must end.” — Ahmad Sharawi, Research Analyst
