‘A bargaining chip': What did the Cairo Summit for Gaza achieve?
"Egypt throws a 'lifeline' to the cause," read the headline in Egypt's state-run newspaper Al Ahram, while one of Jordan's leading newspapers called it 'a clear and implementable vision for managing Gaza'.
When Euronews spoke to senior Jordanian diplomatic sources who were present at the emergency summit – which European Council President António Costa also attended – they were resolute that the meeting showed 'unity' and 'a clear refute to (US President) Donald Trump's plans' to make Gaza 'the riviera of the Middle East,' forcibly removing the population.
The Jordanian officials' initial comments reflected statements by the country's King Abdullah II.
'The outcome of our summit must be practical steps to support our Palestinian brethren, support their steadfastness on their land, alleviate their suffering, and mobilise international efforts to stop everything that prevents the achievement of peace,' the monarch told the conference.
Speaking to Euronews from Beirut, Human Rights Watch's regional director Lama Fakih believed the summit did achieve this.
'Some of the things that we were looking for in the agreement were confirmation that there would be scope for Palestinians and Gaza to have self-determination and have agency,' she explained.
'I think it's a serious proposal and it should be engaged with on the substance.'
'Falling significantly short'
Not so, argues David Schenker, who was US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs during Trump's first term, helping to bring in the Abraham Accords, normalising diplomatic relations between Israel and an array of Arab nations.
"The reconstruction plan has 100 pages of details about temporary housing and structures. I think that's of less concern … the document doesn't even mention Hamas,' he told Euronews from his office at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy think-tank.
The former diplomat contends that the plans lack concrete proposals for maintaining security in Gaza and the West Bank. Because of this, he sees them as a non-starter for Israel – and its biggest financial and military backer.
'The only thing they have on security is police training, which is something that has happened before. Then the document talks about UN peacekeeping forces,' which Schenker believes 'is also totally unacceptable to both Israel and the United States'.
The two countries believe peacekeeping forces in Lebanon previously 'aided and abetted' one of Israel's other regional enemies, Hezbollah, he explained.
After courting Arab and Muslim voters in November, Trump has doubled down on his support for Israel. On Wednesday, the US president warned Hamas on his Truth Social platform that if they didn't release all remaining hostages, ' it is over for you,' promising to 'finish the job'.
The issue of Hamas is also of concern for Hesham Alghannam, director general of the Security Research Centre at Naif Arab University in Saudi Arabia.
'The plan's ambiguity on critical issues — like Hamas's role, implementation timelines, and enforcement mechanisms — undermines its practicality,' he said, concluding that it lacked a 'clear governance structure or security framework'.
While Schenker says that his former boss' proposals for Gaza are 'unrealistic,' he maintains that any proposals are doomed to fail without Trump's support.
'The Arab leader that comes to Washington and presents this vision to President Trump is going to be given the Zelenskyy treatment,' Schenker pointed out.
United we stand?
The emergency summit on Tuesday certainly appeared to show harmony amongst members of the Arab League — or at least among those in the room.
Governments from across the region issued statements reiterating their support for the Egyptian proposal, which might be enough to stave off Trump's controversial ambitions for the time being.
However, behind closed doors, Jordanian officials told Euronews they were concerned with the lack of attendance by leaders of key countries in the region.
They quickly contrasted this with the Jordanian king, who they contend has shown himself 'ready to be there at every opportunity to solve the crisis'.
Abdullah was the first – and to date only – Arab leader to meet with Trump, where he talked about plans for Gaza.
Not everyone was happy, however. Algerian leader Abdelmadjid Tebboune angrily pulled out of the Cairo summit, with the country's official press agency reporting he was ' deeply troubled ' after members of the Gulf Cooperation Council met with Jordanian and Egyptian leaders in Riyadh on 21 February for a 'mini-summit' on Gaza.
Algeria said this amounted to the 'process being monopolized by a narrow and limited group … as if supporting the Palestinian cause has become the exclusive right of a select few'.
Meanwhile, the leaders of some of the countries Algeria pointed fingers at also stayed away. Most notably, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and UAE leader Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan were not among those present in Cairo.
Alghannam puts this partly down to money. 'Both leaders have been central to earlier discussions, particularly in Riyadh, and may have viewed the Cairo summit as less decisive or redundant. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with their significant economic and political influence, might prefer to exert leverage in smaller, more controlled settings,' he said, mentioning the meeting in Riyadh.
Schenker was more direct in his analysis. 'These countries, Saudi Arabia and UAE in particular, are no longer the ATM of the Arab world. And with oil prices down at $70 a barrel, I don't think they're feeling particularly flush these days in any event," he said.
Yet, despite the disagreements and remaining ambiguity, Fakih and many others still see the Arab League's unanimously backed proposal as an achievement and something to work from going forward.
'It's a starting point for discussion,' Fakih concluded. 'I see it as a bargaining chip.'
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