Arab League Summit in Cairo Adopts Gaza Recovery and Reconstruction Plan

Cairo, March 4, 2025 – The emergency Arab League summit concluded Tuesday with the adoption of Egypt’s comprehensive plan for early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza, presented in coordination with Palestine and other Arab states. The final statement, reviewed by AFP, outlines a unified Arab strategy to rebuild the war-torn enclave, rejecting displacement and urging global support to realize a just peace.

Key Commitments of the Cairo Declaration

The summit’s communiqué emphasized several critical points:

• Adoption of Egypt’s Plan: Arab leaders endorsed Egypt’s $53 billion, five-year blueprint for Gaza, focusing on emergency relief, infrastructure rebuilding, and long-term economic development. The plan, detailed in a draft reviewed by AFP, was deemed a “comprehensive Arab initiative” to counter U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to control and depopulate Gaza.
• Financial and Political Support: The statement called for “all forms of financial, material, and political support” to implement the plan, urging the international community, including global and regional financial institutions, to swiftly provide necessary aid. This aligns with the creation of a trust fund announced earlier, pooling commitments from donor nations to fund Gaza’s recovery.
• International Peacekeeping: The summit urged the UN Security Council to deploy international peacekeeping forces to ensure security for both Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza. This would support a political horizon for establishing a Palestinian state, addressing the ongoing conflict since October 2023.
• Rejection of Displacement: The leaders condemned “heinous attempts” to displace Palestinians or annex occupied territories, labeling them a “clear threat” to Middle East peace. They rejected any form of internal or external displacement—under any pretext—as a grave violation of international law, a crime against humanity, and ethnic cleansing, also denouncing policies of starvation and scorched earth aimed at forcing Palestinians out.
• Ceasefire Implementation: The statement prioritized completing the second and third phases of the January 19 ceasefire, demanding Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza, including the Philadelphi Corridor, and ensuring unhindered access to humanitarian, shelter, and medical aid.
• International Conference: The summit welcomed plans for an international conference in Cairo, in collaboration with Palestine and the UN, to accelerate Gaza’s rehabilitation, urging global participation to address the devastation caused by Israeli aggression.
• Regional Cooperation: Arab states committed to intensifying collaboration with international and regional powers, including the U.S., to achieve comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East, readiness to engage immediately with the Trump administration and global partners for peace negotiations on a fair resolution to the Palestinian issue.

Why It Matters

This declaration marks a historic Arab stand against Trump’s vision, which softened to a “recommendation” but still proposes displacing Gazans to Egypt and Jordan. Posts on X celebrated the move as a “victory for Palestinian rights,” with @PalestineSolidarity writing, “The Cairo plan ensures Gaza rebuilds on its land, not elsewhere” ([X posts, March 4, 2025]). It addresses Gaza’s humanitarian crisis—over 160,000 dead or injured, 14,000 missing—and counters Israel’s actions, like the recent aid blockade, amid stalled ceasefire talks.

However, challenges remain: funding the $53 billion plan, navigating Hamas’s role, and securing Israeli and U.S. buy-in, especially with Trump’s isolationist leanings highlighted by Elon Musk’s NATO/UN exit support ([Musk statement, March 2, 2025]).

What’s Next?

The Cairo conference, fund creation, and UN peacekeeping proposals signal immediate action, but success depends on donor pledges and political will.