The 22-nation Arab League first floated a blueprint for ending the war and rebuilding Gaza at an emergency summit in March, in response to Donald Trump’s proposal to “clean out” Palestinian residents and turn the Strip into a beach resort.
Signatories said this would unlock a $53bn (£39bn) reconstruction fund for the devastated territory, lead to new talks on a “political horizon” for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two-state solution, and further Israel-Arab normalisation deals.
“We have never seen that before,” they said, “The statement would have gone against some strong supporters of Hamas and the Palestinian resistance… Getting them all to sign up to it publicly was very important. The question is, what can we make of this?”
Palestinian residents of Gaza City flee in search of safe areas with their belongings (Photo: Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim Al-Arini/Anadolu/Getty)
This week, Egypt announced that together with Jordan it would begin training 5,000 Palestinian police officers to be deployed in post-war Gaza, and 15 local administrators had been agreed to manage different areas of the Strip in consultation with the Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited self-government in the occupied West Bank.
Arab powers have reportedly also agreed on an overall governor for Gaza, Canada-based Palestinian businessman Samir Halilah, who is said to have US endorsement.
The businessman added that international pressure could produce a comprehensive deal in the coming weeks covering Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, the decommissioning of Hamas, reconstruction, and a new Arab-Palestinian security force.
Daoud Kuttab, a veteran Palestinian journalist based in Jordan who has reported on Halilah’s career, described him as “politically smart and flexible…he is not affiliated (to any Palestinian faction), he is much closer to business.”
Netanyahu has said the next leadership of Gaza will be “non-Israeli” but also ruled out the PA taking charge, as well as Hamas remaining in power.
“We are ready today, if not yesterday, to step back from governance to hand it over to a body, a government, a committee, that is ready to run the Gaza Strip,” senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said in February.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C) welcomes United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (R) and Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Abu Gayt (L) for an emergency Arab summit in Cairo in March (Photo: Egyptian Presidency/Anadolu/Getty)The British former diplomat suggested that position still left scope for a phased deal, which could include a ceasefire, hostage release, and installation of a new administration and security force in Gaza, with the most difficult issue left until last.
Israeli security experts and political insiders believe the Arab proposal could provide the basis for an agreement.
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They could provide an off-ramp from a costly and damaging occupation of Gaza, he said.“I hope the mediators will recognise that this is the right plan and, with the necessary adjustments, present it as a ‘take it or leave it’ proposal to both sides,” he added.
Israel will not accept a peacekeeping role for the UN over its perceived failures in Gaza and Lebanon, he said, but could support a force composed of Arab nations it has close relations with, such as Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
Arab Governments’ policy of engagement with Israel has been unpopular with their publics during the bombardment of Gaza, said Chris Doyle, head of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, a UK-based Middle East policy group.
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Egypt recently signed a record $35bn (£26bn) gas deal with an Israeli supplier, Doyle noted, suggesting this marked a policy of “business as usual”, with self-interest overriding solidarity with Palestinians.
Leaders in the Arab world and Europe have recognised the need for a “unified approach” to counteract the US, he said, which has continued to offer strong support for Israel throughout the war.
Israel, too, could come to regard the plan as a convenient off-ramp as the war drags on, bringing rising costs, military exhaustion, and increasing opposition at home and abroad, said Doyle.
But the influence of far-right extremists in Netanyahu’s Government may drown out the voices calling for a deal, even if it serves Israel’s interests and delivers war aims, from removing Hamas to the return of hostages, suggested Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East analyst at Chatham House.
“Ben Gvir and Smotrich are for now dictating what is possible and what is not,” he said.
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