The extraordinary Arab summit, held in Cairo on March 4, brought together all Arab states in response to US President Donald Trump’s shocking announcement on January 25. He declared plans to annex Gaza, forcibly displace its residents to Egypt and Jordan, and place Gaza under US control to transform it into a tourist resort benefiting both the US and Israel. This blatant disregard for international law and treaties constitutes ethnic cleansing — a crime against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Amid unprecedented media coverage, the summit adopted Egypt’s proposed plan, developed in coordination with Palestine and other Arab nations. The 90-page plan proposes a $53-billion, five-year framework for reconstruction, based on studies by the World Bank and the UN Development Programme.
However, within minutes of the summit’s conclusion, Israel rejected its resolutions, swiftly followed by President Trump, who reiterated his call for forced displacement. These rapid rejections shattered any sense of achievement the Arab leaders had hoped to claim.
While Israel’s obstructionism is expected, the true shock came from the US, long considered a strategic ally of Arab nations. Despite decades of rhetoric about shared interests, Washington dismissed the reconstruction plan outright, exposing its disregard for Arab concerns. The reason is evident: these nations have consistently deferred to US policies, never daring to challenge its directives — except in this case, where accepting forced displacement would pose an existential threat to Arab governments.
The final communiqué, instead of confronting Israeli crimes, was filled with conciliatory language, even as the region witnessed one of the most brutal massacres in recent history. The US has actively supported Israel’s military campaign, which has resulted in over 160,000 Palestinian casualties — 70 per cent of whom were women, children, or unarmed civilians — along with 14,000 missing persons. The destruction includes 170,000 buildings, universities, schools, hospitals, and nearly all government institutions in Gaza. The violence has orphaned over 40,000 Palestinian children.
Yet, despite this unprecedented devastation, Arab leaders continue advocating for normalisation, repeating the same rhetoric from the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002. That initiative, which proposed full diplomatic ties with Israel in exchange for the establishment of a Palestinian state, has been met with silence. Instead, Israel has pursued selective bilateral agreements, ensuring it remains unbound by any collective Arab demands on Palestine.
Remarkably, the summit carefully avoided holding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accountable, failing even to mention him as a war criminal. Nor did it demand that Israel contribute financially to Gaza’s reconstruction. Instead, the final communiqué contained multiple flattering references to the United States — the very country that has enabled this humanitarian catastrophe through its unwavering military, intelligence, and economic support for Israel.
Yet neither Netanyahu nor Trump reciprocated this courtesy. Their immediate rejection of Arab resolutions underscores a harsh reality: Arab nations, despite their collective strength, hold little weight on the international stage. Even during the holy month of Ramadhan, they have been unable to deliver a single bottle of water to besieged Palestinians in Gaza, who now face the threat of mass starvation.
Recent events and Washington’s unfiltered stance confirm a bitter truth: in global politics, weakness invites disregard. Diplomacy and carefully crafted statements are no longer enough. The world has changed, and history will judge this generation of Arab leaders for their deliberate inaction and failure to defend what is, at its core, their own cause — the just struggle of the Palestinian people.
Translated by Badr al Dhafari The original version of this article was published in Arabic in Oman Arabic newspaper on March 12, 2025.
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