Trump’s Gaza plan threatens ceasefire, Middle East ‘peace and stability’, warns Arab League

Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and resettle Palestinians could lead to a new cycle of crises and damage peace efforts, according to the Arab League Secretary General

Reading Time:2 minutes

A billboard by the Coalition for Regional Security promotes a regional peace deal, during a Washington trip by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strengthen ties with U.S. President Donald Trump, in Ramat Gan, Israel February 3, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:36pm, 12 Feb 2025Updated: 7:37pm, 12 Feb 2025

US President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and resettle Palestinians, which has drawn global condemnation, would threaten a fragile ceasefire in the enclave and fuel regional instability, a senior Arab official said on Wednesday.

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit warned the World Government Summit in Dubai that if Trump pressed ahead with his plan, he would lead the Middle East into a new cycle of crises with a “damaging effect on peace and stability.”

Trump enraged the Arab world by declaring unexpectedly that the United States would take over Gaza, resettle its Palestinian population of more than 2 million, and develop it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

After 16 months of Israeli air strikes in the Gaza war following Hamas’ attacks on Israel in October 2023, Palestinians fear a repeat of the “Nakba,” or catastrophe, when nearly 800,000 people fled or were driven out during the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel. Trump has said they would have no right to return.

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks during the Mediterranean Dialogues conference in Rome, Italy, November 25, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday the ceasefire in Gaza would end, and the military would resume fighting Hamas until it was defeated if the Palestinian militant group did not release hostages by midday on Saturday.