Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Sunday that his country’s Gaza reconstruction plan, which would ensure that the Palestinian population remains in the Strip, is ready and will be presented to an emergency Arab summit on March 4.

Arab states that were swift to reject US President Donald Trump’s plan for the US to take control of Gaza and resettle Palestinians are scrambling to agree on a diplomatic offensive to counter the idea.

Trump’s plan, announced on February 4 during a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, has infuriated Palestinians and Arab countries and upended decades of US diplomacy that envisioned the Gaza Strip as part of a future Palestinian state under a two-state solution.

The Egyptian counter-plan, according to Abdelatty, will not be purely Egyptian or Arab but will seek international support and funding to ensure its successful implementation.

“We will hold intensive talks with major donor countries once the plan is adopted at the upcoming Arab summit,” Abdelatty said in a press conference with European Union Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica.

Abdelatty said Europe’s role, especially in the economic aspect of rebuilding the war-torn enclave, is critical.

Asked about the ceasefire deal, whose first phase ended last week, Abdelatty said Egypt will continue its intensive efforts to ensure the truce is maintained and negotiations for its second phase can begin.

He stressed the importance........

© The Times of Israel