JEDDAH: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) formally adopted early Saturday an Arab League counter-proposal to US President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and displace its residents, calling on the international community to support the regional initiative.
The decision by the 57-member grouping came at an emergency meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, three days after the Arab League ratified the plan at a summit in Cairo.
The Egyptian-crafted alternative to Trump’s widely condemned takeover proposes to rebuild the Gaza Strip under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority. The OIC “adopts the plan… on the early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza”, a communique said.
The body, which represents the Muslim world, urged “the international community and international and regional funding institutions to swiftly provide the necessary support for the plan”.
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.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty welcomed the OIC endorsement and said he now hoped to gain support from the wider international community, including the US.
“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.”
However, the Egyptian proposal — which does not outline a role for Hamas, which controls Gaza — has already been rejected by both the US and Israel.
The plan “does not meet the expectations” of Washington, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters on Thursday.
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, however, gave a more positive reaction, calling it a “good-faith first step from the Egyptians”.
Trump’s plan has united Arab countries in opposition, and Rabha Seif Allam, of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, said Egypt was seeking “broad support” for its proposal.
“This is an attempt to build a broad coalition that refuses the displacement” of Palestinians from Gaza, she said.
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