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The Arab League’s emergency summit on Gaza was never truly about Gaza’s future. Instead, it was a political maneuver aimed at absolving Arab leaders of responsibility while gaslighting the world into believing a viable solution exists without addressing the core problem: Hamas.
The 100-page "Gaza Plan"—filled mostly with maps and engineering diagrams—was a predictable failure. It promised to rebuild Gaza in five years with a $53 billion budget but avoided the essential prerequisite: removing Hamas. Without eliminating this terrorist organization and disarming Palestinian militias, peace remains unattainable.
Hamas welcomed the summit’s concluding statement, the so-called “Cairo Declaration,” confirming the meeting was a smokescreen rather than a serious effort to replace Hamas with a legitimate governing body. Tellingly, Hamas was absent from the summit but dictated its outcome from behind the scenes.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Atty admitted that the technocratic administration proposed for Gaza was pre-approved by both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. In other words, the Arab League’s grand solution is simply a rebranding of the same actors who have prolonged Gaza’s suffering—either through Hamas’s de facto rule or the Palestinian Authority’s endemic corruption.
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Beyond political failure, the reconstruction plan is logistically implausible. Even under the best circumstances, clearing Gaza’s estimated 40 billion tons of war rubble would take at least five years. The UNDP notes that rebuilding Mosul, Iraq—a smaller-scale conflict zone—took over a decade. The notion that Gaza can be reconstructed in five years, under ongoing instability, is either wishful thinking or deliberate deception.
Then there’s the issue of funding. The plan envisions wealthy Gulf nations and international institutions footing the bill. However, apart from Qatar—Hamas’s longtime patron—Gulf states have little interest in funding another round of reconstruction without guarantees that their money won’t finance Hamas’s next war. The demilitarization of Gaza is the only credible assurance, yet it remains the least discussed issue.
Since the Hamas-led Second Intifada in 2000, Gulf states have poured billions into Gaza, only for Hamas to divert funds toward terrorism. Saudi Arabia and the UAE signaled their skepticism by sending only mid-level representatives to the summit—an intentional snub that underscored their unwillingness to invest in another futile cycle of destruction and rebuilding.
The international response further exposed the summit’s irrelevance. Following its conclusion, reports emerged that Trump’s special envoy, Adam Boehler, was directly negotiating with Hamas in Doha to secure the release of Israeli hostages. This signaled Washington’s frustration with Arab mediators—particularly Egypt and Qatar—who seem intent on keeping Hamas in power.
Meanwhile, European powers, including France, Germany, Italy, and Britain, issued a joint statement endorsing the Arab Gaza Plan and advocating for the Palestinian Authority’s return to Gaza. Their support, however, appeared less about Gaza and more about countering Trump. The European position may have reacted to Trump’s recent remarks on NATO, Ukraine, and his broader shift away from traditional European alliances.
Trump’s dismissal of the summit’s conclusions was a devastating blow to the Arab League’s credibility. For decades, the organization has claimed a central role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet, its refusal to take meaningful action has made it an obstacle to peace rather than a facilitator.
The Arab leaders’ real priority was not Gaza’s stability but blocking Trump’s idea of turning Gaza into a Mediterranean economic hub. The notion of Western-led development in Gaza threatened Cairo and Amman’s regional influence, pushing them to ensure the crisis remains Israel’s burden. The summit’s final statement further exposed its true goal: attacking Israel rather than crafting solutions. Article 18 of the Cairo Declaration calls for legal action against Israel and the U.S. under the 1948 Genocide Convention, a cynical weaponization of international law that ignores Hamas’s use of human shields and embedded military infrastructure.
The summit also revealed a hardening Arab stance. Syria’s jihadist president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who had previously avoided direct confrontation with Israel, used the platform to call for collective Arab action against Israel. In an interview, he hinted at undisclosed plans for “confronting Israeli aggression,” marking a dangerous shift in rhetoric.
This fixation on vilifying Israel, rather than offering concrete solutions, is precisely why the Arab League’s summit failed. Instead of helping Gazans, Arab leaders used them as political pawns to attack Israel and the West.
Dalia Ziada Courtasy of Dalia Ziada The path forward is clear but requires political courage. Any serious reconstruction effort must begin with the unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and the complete demilitarization of Gaza. If Arab states refuse to support this, alternative solutions—including temporary safe zones for displaced Gazans outside of Gaza—must be considered.
The Arab League had an opportunity to take meaningful action. Instead, it chose political theatre. Until Hamas is removed from power, every so-called “peace plan” will be nothing more than another chapter in Gaza’s endless cycle of destruction.
- Dalia Ziada is a Senior Fellow for Research and Diplomacy at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), specializing in Middle Eastern geopolitics and governance.