As Gaza Crisis Deepens, Arab Leaders Are to Meet to Form a Plan
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
Trying to counter President Trump’s proposal to “clean out” Gaza, Arab leaders plan to meet in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss their own vision for the Palestinian territories. But they face an uphill climb.
When leaders of every Arab country meet for an emergency summit in Cairo on Tuesday, they will face pressure to come up with something that has proved elusive for decades: a comprehensive Arab vision for Gaza, just as the Israel-Hamas cease-fire is teetering and Israel, buoyed by President Trump’s backing, holds the upper hand.
“Arab Summit: Rescue mission,” read the stark headline on Saturday in Al-Ahram, Egypt’s state-owned flagship newspaper, over an article outlining the “uphill task” facing Arab leaders.
The summit was originally called in response to Mr. Trump’s proposal last month to expel Palestinians from Gaza, send them to Egypt and Jordan and turn the territory into a tourism hub, an idea much of the world has rejected as ethnic cleansing.
Egypt, Jordan and Arab allies have pushed back on the plan, saying it would destroy any remaining hope of a Palestinian state, threaten their national security and destabilize the entire region.
Mr. Trump appeared to soften his position recently, saying in an interview that he was “not forcing it.” But the Arab world remains deeply concerned about Gaza, especially now that the cease-fire that has paused the bloodshed there for six weeks and seen Israel and Hamas exchange Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages is in doubt.
Image