France, Britain, Germany and Italy have said the Arab-backed plan to reconstruct Gaza and avoid displacing Palestinians from the terrritory is a "realistic path".
Palestinians break their fast among the rubble in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 1, 2025. The UN says more than 90% of homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. REUTERS - Hatem Khaled
By: RFI
By: RFI
Issued on: 08/03/2025 -
The $53 billion plan, put forward by the Arab League, was formally adopted on Saturday by the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at an emergency meeting in Saudi Arabia.
The Egyptian-crafted proposal is an alternative to US President Donald Trump's plan to turn the Gaza Strip into a "Middle East Riviera", displacing its 2.4 million inhabitants.
On Saturday, the foreign mnisters of France, Germany, Italy and Britain welcomed the five-year Egyptian plan, saying it promised "swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions" for the people of Gaza, they said in a joint statement.
French Foreign ministry says forced displacement of Gazans would be 'unacceptable'
A "realistic" path
The plan would rebuild the Gaza Strip under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and does not outline a role for Hamas, which controls Gaza.
Hamas and the PA welcomed the plan after it was presented by Egypt on Tuesday.
OIC, which represents the Muslim world, has urged "the international community and international and regional funding institutions to swiftly provide the necessary support for the plan".
Both the US and Israel have rejected it, claiming it fails to address the realities in Gaza.
"Residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance," Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for Trump's National Security Council, said Tuesday.
However, European foreign ministers said it showed "a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza".
"We are clear that Hamas must neither govern Gaza nor be a threat to Israel any more," they said in their statement.
"We commend the serious efforts of all involved stakeholders and appreciate the important signal the Arab states have sent by jointly developing this recovery and reconstruction plan."
The four countries said they were committed to working with the Arab initiative, the Palestinians and Israel to "address those issues together".
The majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have been forced to leave their homes since Israel began bombarding Gaza following the 17 October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel which killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
(with newswires)
The $53 billion plan, put forward by the Arab League, was formally adopted on Saturday by the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at an emergency meeting in Saudi Arabia.
The Egyptian-crafted proposal is an alternative to US President Donald Trump's plan to turn the Gaza Strip into a "Middle East Riviera", displacing its 2.4 million inhabitants.
On Saturday, the foreign mnisters of France, Germany, Italy and Britain welcomed the five-year Egyptian plan, saying it promised "swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions" for the people of Gaza, they said in a joint statement.
French Foreign ministry says forced displacement of Gazans would be 'unacceptable'
A "realistic" path
The plan would rebuild the Gaza Strip under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and does not outline a role for Hamas, which controls Gaza.
Hamas and the PA welcomed the plan after it was presented by Egypt on Tuesday.
OIC, which represents the Muslim world, has urged "the international community and international and regional funding institutions to swiftly provide the necessary support for the plan".
Both the US and Israel have rejected it, claiming it fails to address the realities in Gaza.
"Residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance," Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for Trump's National Security Council, said Tuesday.
However, European foreign ministers said it showed "a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza".
"We are clear that Hamas must neither govern Gaza nor be a threat to Israel any more," they said in their statement.
"We commend the serious efforts of all involved stakeholders and appreciate the important signal the Arab states have sent by jointly developing this recovery and reconstruction plan."
The four countries said they were committed to working with the Arab initiative, the Palestinians and Israel to "address those issues together".
The majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have been forced to leave their homes since Israel began bombarding Gaza following the 17 October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel which killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
(with newswires)
No comments:
Post a Comment