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Arab Proposal Aims to Counter Trump’s Plan to Displace Palestinians

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, and Qatar meet in Cairo a few days ago. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry).
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, and Qatar meet in Cairo a few days ago. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry).
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Arab Proposal Aims to Counter Trump’s Plan to Displace Palestinians

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, and Qatar meet in Cairo a few days ago. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry).
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, and Qatar meet in Cairo a few days ago. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry).

An emergency Arab League summit, set to take place in Egypt at the end of this month, will discuss an Arab proposal aimed at ensuring Palestinians remain on their land. This initiative directly counters US President Donald Trump’s plan advocating for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the summit will present a unified Arab stance as an alternative to Trump’s. He emphasized that the plan will be based on Palestinian consensus and supported by broad Arab and international backing.

According to Arab League spokesperson Gamal Roshdy, the summit will focus on a reconstruction plan for Gaza while ensuring Palestinians remain in their homeland.

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Cairo will host the emergency summit on February 27 to address the latest serious developments concerning Palestine. The meeting comes amid Trump’s continued push to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to other countries, including Egypt and Jordan.

Aboul Gheit firmly rejected any Arab concessions regarding Palestinian land, reiterating the Arab world’s commitment to a two-state solution. He slammed Trump for seeks to strip Palestinians of their rights, adding: “Neither he nor anyone else can buy Gaza.”

In late January, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi denounced any forced relocation of Palestinians, calling it an “injustice” that Egypt would not accept.

The Arab League also issued a statement last week rejecting Trump’s plan, saying it violates international law and undermines the two-state solution that is seen as the only viable path to lasting peace and security between Palestinians and Israelis.

The upcoming summit’s Arab proposal revolves around three key objectives: rejecting the forced displacement of Palestinians, launching a large-scale reconstruction initiative for Gaza and restoring the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) governance over the territory, leading to elections after a transitional period.

According to an Arab diplomatic source, Egypt and other Arab states are working on a framework to allow the PA to resume its administration of Gaza with minimal resistance from Hamas, which currently rules the coastal enclave.

Egypt has also announced plans to host an international conference, in collaboration with the United Nations, to facilitate Gaza’s reconstruction.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, political analyst Ashraf Al-Ashry noted that the proposal aims to prevent forced displacement, while enabling the PA to re-establish control over Gaza, ultimately paving the way for Palestinian elections.

Palestinian political analyst Shafiq Al-Talouli echoed this sentiment, stressing that Arab countries are taking serious steps to turn their vision for Palestine into reality by ensuring the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

“The most effective way to counter displacement efforts is Arab unity,” he stressed.

Moreover, he said post-war planning must focus on transferring control of Gaza back to the PA given that several European countries support this approach.

Such a step requires urgent Palestinian reconciliation, especially between Fatah and Hamas, he remarked.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.