President Abbas commends reconstruction plan for Gaza, calls for U.S. support

Cairo, March 4, 2025 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas has commended the Egyptian-Palestinian-Arab plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, emphasizing that it must take place with Palestinians remaining on their homeland and without displacement. He called on U.S. President Donald Trump to support these efforts.

Speaking at the emergency Arab Summit* in Cairo on Tuesday, the President warned of serious challenges threatening the Palestinian cause, particularly the calls for the forced displacement of Palestinians, which he firmly rejected.

He also condemned Israeli policies aimed at imposing a colonial settlement reality in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, saying these actions seek to undermine the two-state solution and eliminate the Palestinian cause.

In a significant move, President Abbas declared the establishment of a new position—a Vice President for both the PLO and the State of Palestine—and pledged to take the necessary legal steps to formalize the role.

President Abbas outlined the Palestinian vision for addressing the challenges facing the Palestinian cause, which includes ensuring that the Palestinian government assumes its responsibilities in Gaza, implementing the Egyptian-Palestinian-Arab reconstruction plan, continuing governmental reform and development programs, and intensifying efforts to strengthen Palestinian national unity.

He also reaffirmed readiness to hold general elections—both presidential and legislative—next year, provided that suitable conditions are met in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, as in previous elections. He urged all parties to create an environment conducive to this democratic process.

As part of ongoing efforts to restructure the leadership of the Palestinian state, the President announced plans to revamp key national institutions and inject new leadership into the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Fatah movement, and state bodies. He confirmed that the Palestinian Central Council would convene soon to discuss these developments.

Additionally, the President announced a general amnesty for all dismissed members of the Fatah movement, as part of efforts to strengthen internal unity and organizational cohesion.

The emergency summit comes amid heightened regional tensions and increased international focus on the future of Gaza and the Palestinian cause.

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* Held at the request of the State of Palestine, the Emergency Arab Summit is intended to coordinate positions on the challenges and grave developments related to the Palestinian question, particularly to reach an Arab consensus on preparing a plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip that would avoid the displacement of the Palestinian population of the Strip, consolidating the Gaza ceasefire and enabling the State of Palestine to assume its responsibilities in the Strip.

The summit is also intended to reach a consensus on halting Israeli practices in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem and implementing the two-state solution based on an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of the Palestinian state of the June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, to bring a just, comprehensive and lasting peace to the region.