Egypt to host emergency Arab summit on March 4 to discuss Gaza reconstruction

By Ibrahim Khazen and Rania Abu Shamala

CAIRO (AA) – Egypt confirmed on Tuesday that it will host an emergency Arab summit on March 4 to discuss plans to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing its Palestinian inhabitants.

The summit was originally scheduled to be held on Feb. 27, but was postponed to March 4 “to complete logistical preparations,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the new date was set in coordination with Bahrain, the current chair of the Arab League, and in consultation with Arab countries.

The summit follows a proposal by US President Donald Trump to take over Gaza and resettle its Palestinian inhabitants to develop it into what he called “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

On Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi confirmed that his country is preparing a "comprehensive” plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing Palestinians.

Trump’s plan for Palestinian resettlement has been rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.

The controversial idea came amid the ceasefire agreement that took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed nearly 48,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.