Officials in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have endorsed the $53 billion (€49.75 billion) five-year reconstruction plan for the Palestinian territory put forth by regional leaders Tuesday night at an extraordinary summit of the Arab League.

At a joint press conference with League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Cairo, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said it would be important to unify Gaza and the West Bank and strengthen the bond between Palestinians in the territories. Mustafa also reaffirmed that the final communique released by the Arab League summit had addressed all aspects of the Palestinian cause, and said efforts would continue with relevant parties to implement the reconstruction plan for Gaza.

The summit was called to counter US President Donald Trump's call to permanently "relocate" Gaza's 2.3 million people and create a holiday resort in the strip. Leaders across the Middle East and around the world have condemned that plan, which UN officials say would amount to ethnic cleansing.

Hamas signaled its approval of much of the agreement reached in Cairo. The group led the October 2023 terror attacks in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 taken hostage and which preceded the now-paused war in which more than 48,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of them women and children, have been killed.

"We welcome the summit's call for rebuilding the Palestinian national institutions to represent the aspirations of our people for freedom and independence by holding legislative and presidential elections as soon as possible," a statement from Hamas read.

The summit came with

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