PALESTINE
Thu 06 Feb 2025 4:03 pm - Jerusalem Time
Arab League stresses reconstruction of Gaza to block displacement
Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, stressed the "need to accelerate relief efforts and rebuild the Gaza Strip to block the displacement plan." Aboul Gheit and Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed Mustafa agreed, after their meeting in Cairo on Thursday, that the Palestinian people will not allow a repetition of the "Nakba."
The meeting between Aboul Gheit and Mustafa at the headquarters of the Arab League coincided with Arab and international rejection of US President Donald Trump’s statements regarding the “displacement” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and “US control over the Strip.”
The meeting discussed “the current Palestinian situation in light of the threats facing the cause, especially the displacement scenario, which is rejected by Arabs and internationally,” according to an official statement by the official spokesman for the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Jamal Rushdi.
Rushdi said, "Both Abu al-Gheit and Mustafa stressed the Arab consensus on rejecting any infringement on the constants of the Palestinian cause, the most important of which is the people remaining on their land and not being deprived of their right to self-determination."
During the meeting, the Palestinian Prime Minister presented the Palestinian Authority’s plans and programs to deal with “the catastrophic situation in Gaza in order to implement urgent relief and early recovery, in preparation for reconstruction.” Aboul Gheit stressed that “the plans are feasible while the Palestinian people remain on their land, and what is required at this stage is to consolidate the ceasefire, work to bring in urgent relief aid, and help the population gradually restore normal life in order to thwart the Israeli plan to make the Strip uninhabitable.”
The meeting between Abu al-Gheit and Mustafa touched on “the recent statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding what he called the voluntary exit of the population from the Gaza Strip,” where it was noted that they “clearly reveal the nature of the Israeli plan and its goals,” and the emphasis that “the Palestinian people will not allow the Nakba to be repeated a second time under the pretext of voluntary or forced exit,” according to Rushdi.
In turn, the Palestinian Prime Minister stressed, in a press conference following the meeting, that “the Palestinian Authority looks forward to working with the General Secretariat of the Arab League and the member states in the next phase, with the aim of overcoming the challenges,” noting that he informed Aboul Gheit of “the political and practical moves undertaken by the Palestinian Authority to confront the challenges, especially at the political level.”
He said: “Despite the worrying political and security situation in the Strip, we are working seriously in the government to provide relief to the people and prepare for reconstruction as soon as possible in cooperation with partners.”
Palestine's permanent representative to the Arab League, Ambassador Muhannad Al-Aklouk, explained in press statements following the meeting that the Palestinian Prime Minister presented to the Secretary-General "the most practical ways to provide relief to the residents of the Gaza Strip, bring in sufficient aid, implement the government's plan to assume governance responsibilities in the Strip, provide relief to the people, provide shelter, and everything that would help the people to remain on their land."
He said, "The plan includes early recovery for 6 months, then economic recovery for 3 years, and finally reconstruction for 10 years."
Al-Aklouk praised the positions of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, which reject “displacement”, pointing out that “efforts are now directed towards supporting and strengthening the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land and providing them with the means of life.” He said: “The Palestinian people will not emigrate, will not leave and will not pay attention to any displacement plans.”
The meeting also addressed “the necessity of consolidating the ceasefire in Gaza, and agreeing on the second and third stages of the truce, in addition to the political horizon and the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders,” according to Al-Aklouk.
The General Secretariat of the Arab League stressed in a statement on Wednesday that “the constants of the Palestinian cause remain the subject of complete Arab consensus that is beyond doubt, and that the most important of these constants is the Palestinian people obtaining their legitimate rights to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
While the General Secretariat expressed its “confidence in the desire of the United States and its President to achieve just peace in the region,” it stressed that “the proposal that Trump spoke about involves promoting a scenario of displacing the Palestinians, which is rejected by Arabs and internationally, and violates international law,” and said that “this proposal represents a recipe for instability and does not contribute to achieving the two-state solution, which represents the only way to establish peace and security between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and in the region as a whole.”
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Arab League stresses reconstruction of Gaza to block displacement