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Palestinian PM: Emergency Summit is the Best Response to Displacement Calls

Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Mustafa (AP)
Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Mustafa (AP)
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Palestinian PM: Emergency Summit is the Best Response to Displacement Calls

Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Mustafa (AP)
Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Mustafa (AP)

Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Mustafa welcomed the outcomes of the emergency Arab summit in Cairo, which adopted a unified Arab plan for the reconstruction of Gaza without the displacement of its residents.

In exclusive remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Mustafa described the Cairo summit as “the strongest response to calls for the forced displacement of Palestinians,” emphasizing that “the world has heard the Arab voice.”

The emergency Arab summit, held on Tuesday, approved Egypt’s proposed Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of Gaza as a comprehensive Arab initiative. The summit’s final statement reaffirmed an unequivocal rejection of any attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians.

The plan aims to facilitate early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza over a five-year period, with an estimated budget of $53 billion. It also includes a new political and security framework for the territory, starting with the formation of a non-partisan technocratic committee under the supervision of the Palestinian Authority.

Mustafa stressed that implementing the reconstruction plan would only be possible once a permanent ceasefire is secured.

Addressing the impact of Arab unity on countering displacement efforts, Mustafa said the summit’s resolutions were “the strongest rejection” of such plans, adding that Arab nations “have done everything in their power” to support the Palestinian people.

The idea of displacing Palestinians from Gaza has been floated by former US President Donald Trump and some Israeli officials but has been met with strong Arab opposition.

The final statement of the Cairo summit reaffirmed the Arab world’s stance, citing the Bahrain Declaration of May 16, 2024, which firmly rejected any form of forced Palestinian displacement under any pretext.

Mustafa described the emergency summit as a “success on all fronts”.

The summit’s final statement also called for stronger cooperation with international and regional powers, including the United States, to achieve comprehensive peace and a just resolution to the Palestinian cause based on a two-state solution.

The Palestinian Authority is now seeking broader Islamic and international support for the reconstruction plan. Speaking at a joint press conference with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit after the summit, Mustafa expressed hope that the plan would gain approval within the Islamic framework before being presented for European and American backing. He warned that failure to implement the plan would pose serious risks to the Palestinian cause.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty announced that Jeddah would host an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers on Friday to endorse the Gaza reconstruction plan, making it both an Arab and Islamic initiative.

Mustafa stressed that implementing the Arab plan would help unify Palestinian territories under a single governing authority. He described the reconstruction effort as a step toward establishing an independent Palestinian state, noting that its success would require a clearly defined political and security framework for Gaza. Arab nations and international institutions, he added, would play a key role in creating the necessary conditions for its implementation.

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Arab World

Israeli Probe into Killings of 15 Palestinian Medics in Gaza Finds ‘Professional Failures’

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israeli Probe into Killings of 15 Palestinian Medics in Gaza Finds ‘Professional Failures’

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)

An Israeli investigation into the killings of 15 Palestinian medics last month in Gaza by Israeli forces said Sunday it found “professional failures” and a deputy commander will be fired.

Israel at first claimed that the medics' vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire but later backtracked. Cellphone video recovered from one of the medics contradicted Israel’s initial account.

The military investigation found that the deputy battalion commander, “due to poor night visibility,” assessed that the ambulances belonged to Hamas fighters. Video footage obtained from the incident shows the ambulances had lights flashing and logos visible as they pulled up to help another ambulance that came under fire earlier. The teams do not appear to be acting unusually or in a threatening manner as three medics emerge and head toward it.

Their vehicles immediately come under a barrage of gunfire that goes on for more than five minutes with brief pauses.

Bodies were buried in a mass grave

Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense workers and a UN staffer were killed in the shooting before dawn on March 23 by troops conducting operations in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Troops bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. UN and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later to dig out the bodies.

The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society has said the men were “targeted at close range.”

The Israeli military investigation said the examination found "no evidence to support claims of execution or that any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting."

It said the Palestinians were killed due to an “operational misunderstanding” by Israeli forces, and that a separate incident 15 minutes later, when Israeli soldiers shot at a Palestinian UN vehicle, was a breach of orders.

The deputy commander who will be dismissed was the first to open fire and the rest of the soldiers also started shooting, the investigation said.

The findings asserted that six of those killed were Hamas members and said some of the others were originally misidentified as Hamas. Israel’s military initially said nine were militants. The Civil Defense is part of the Hamas-run government.

The investigation found that the decision to crush the ambulances was wrong but said there was no attempt to conceal the event. Maj. Gen Yoav Har-Even, in charge of the military’s investigative branch, said the bodies and vehicles were removed from the road because the military wanted to use it for an evacuation route later that day.

Har-Even said the military notified international organizations about the shooting that day and helped them locate the bodies.

The statement on the findings concluded by saying that Israel’s military “regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians.” The one survivor was detained for investigation and remains in custody for further questioning.

The investigation's findings have been turned over the Military Advocate General, which can decide whether to file charges. It is meant to be an independent body, with oversight by Israel’s attorney general and Supreme Court.

There are no outside investigations of the killings underway.

Israel has accused Hamas of moving and hiding its fighters inside ambulances and emergency vehicles, as well as in hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, arguing that justifies strikes on them. Medical personnel largely deny the accusations.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 150 emergency responders from the Red Crescent and Civil Defense, most of them while on duty, as well as over 1,000 health workers during the war, according to the UN The Israeli military rarely investigates such incidents.

Israel disputes ICC accusations of war crimes

Palestinians and international human rights groups have repeatedly accused Israel’s military of failing to properly investigate or whitewashing misconduct by its troops.

Har-Even said the Israeli military is currently investigating 421 incidents during the war, with 51 concluded and sent to the Military Advocate General. There was no immediate information on the number of investigations involving potential wrongful deaths or how many times the MAG has pursued criminal charges.

The International Criminal Court, established by the international community as a court of last resort, has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant of war crimes. Israel, which is not a member of the court, has long asserted that its legal system is capable of investigating the army, and Netanyahu has accused the ICC of antisemitism.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas currently holds 59 hostages, 24 of them believed to be alive.

Israel’s offensive has since killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The war has destroyed vast parts of Gaza and most of its food production capabilities. Around 90% of the population is displaced, with hundreds of thousands of people living in tent camps and bombed-out buildings.

Frustration has been growing on both sides, with rare public protests against Hamas in Gaza and continued weekly rallies in Israel pressing the government to reach a deal to bring all hostages home.