• Bloc seeks swift support from world community, funding institutions
• UK, EU nations hail Arab proposal
• Pakistan calls forced relocation of Palestinians a war crime, ethnic cleansing

JEDDAH: International support grew on Saturday for an Arab counterproposal to US President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and displace its residents, with Islamic nations endorsing it and European governments giving their backing.

Unlike the Trump plan, the Arab proposal aims to rebuild Gaza without displacing the territory’s 2.4 million inhabitants, who endured more than 15 months of devastating conflict before a fragile ceasefire took effect on January 19.

The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) formally adopted the counterproposal at an emergency meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, three days after the Arab League ratified it at a summit in Cairo.

Britain, France, Germany and Italy gave their backing in a joint statement by their foreign ministers, hailing it as a “realistic path” for rebuilding war-torn Gaza without uprooting its Palestinian inhabitants.

The OIC “adopts the plan… on the early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza”, the Islamic bloc said in a statement. It urged “the international community and international and regional funding institutions to swiftly provide the necessary support”.

Trump triggered global outrage when he suggested the US “take over” Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, while forcing its Palestinian inhabitants to relocate to Egypt or Jordan.

Ethnic cleansing, war crime

Pakistan stressed upon the Muslim nations to make it unequivocally clear that any attempt to forcibly relocate the Palestinian people, whether from Gaza or the West Bank, was ethnic cleansing and a war crime under international law.

In a statement at the Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Islamic bloc must categorically reject any proposal that seeks to eject the Palestinians from their own homeland.

No external force has the right to dictate their future to the Palestinians. They must determine their own future, through an exercise of self-determination. The OIC must stand united against any sinister agenda aimed at altering the demography of the occupied Palestinian territories, he added.

Mr Dar presented Pakistan’s urgent recommendations, including a full and immediate implementation of the three phases of the ceasefire agreement, which included a permanent cessation of hostilities, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, unrestricted humanitarian access, and a comprehensive reconstruction plan.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty welcomed the OIC endorsement and said he now hoped to gain support from the wider international community, including the United States.

“The next step is for the plan to become an international plan through adoption by the European Union and international parties such as Japan, Russia, China and others,” Abdelatty said.

“This is what we will seek and we have contact with all parties, including the American party.”

The four European governments welcomed the plan’s proposal for Gaza to return to the control of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority after nearly two decades of Hamas rule. “We are clear that Hamas must neither govern Gaza nor be a threat to Israel anymore,” they said in their statement.

“We commend the serious efforts of all involved stakeholders and appreciate the important signal the Arab states have sent by jointly developing this recovery and reconstruction plan,” they added.

However, the Egyptian proposal has already been cold-shouldered by Israel and the United States. It “does not meet the expectations” of Washington, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters on Thursday.

Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff gave a more positive reaction, however, calling the plan a “good-faith first step from the Egyptians”.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2025