In a major development, an extraordinary Arab League meeting on Gaza, initially set for next week, has been postponed to March 4 or the first week of the Ramadan Kareem.
Egypt, the host, has been quoted as saying that the new date had been “agreed” with Arab League members as part of “substantive and logistical preparations” for the summit.
In my view, postponing the meeting that has been called in response to US President Donald Trump’s proposal to take over Gaza Strip and move its Palestinian inhabitants elsewhere, including to Egypt and Jordan, reflects the existence of inner fissures within the Arab world. That is why perhaps Saudi Arabia is slated to host the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates today, of course ahead of the postponed meeting, to present their own plan for Gaza’s reconstruction while ensuring that Palestinians remain on their land.
What does it mean? In my view, the Arab League, which was founded in 1945, is still struggling to overcome dysfunction and disunity among its members. There exists a widely-held perception in the Arab world in particular that every Arab League summit is nothing but another occasion characterized by speeches that give a false sense of unity.
It is, therefore, about time the leadership of the Arab League effectively dispelled such perception by bringing about reforms within its institutional framework before they sought to resolve a slew of conflicts facing the Arab world.
The Arab League is widely perceived as an organization that has done little or nothing for the Arab world since its founding. One of its achievements, however, is the fact that in 2023 it successfully brought Syria back into its fold after 12 years.
Abdulrahman bin Haider (Damascus)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025