“Iraq renews its firm position calling for the establishment of an internationally recognized Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and rejects the policies of ethnic cleansing by the occupying entity against the Palestinian people,” Rashid said in a speech at the Arab Summit.
He warned of the “disastrous effects” of plans that aim to remove Palestinians from their lands and instead called for “developing realistic solutions” to the cause.
“We call for urgent action to rebuild the Gaza Strip, and we renew our call to establish a fund to rebuild Gaza after the aggression and to develop a thoughtful assessment that determines its needs … and divide the obligations among the participating countries in a systematic manner,” Rashid suggested.
Rashid arrived in Cairo on Monday to attend the Arab Summit focused on Gaza. He was joined by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and the Kurdistan Region’s Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, among other officials.
In early February, US President Donald Trump proposed that Washington would “take over” Gaza and transform it into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” expelling its residents to Jordan and Egypt. The announcement was made during a joint presser with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump’s proposal has faced widespread global criticism, particularly from Amman and Cairo. Palestinian officials have labeled it as a “declaration of war” and urged Arab states to take a firm stance against it.
In his speech, Rashid also called on the United Nations to take urgent action to stop the aggressions in Gaza.
Israel on Sunday halted all humanitarian aid into Gaza to pressure Hamas to extend the first phase of a fragile ceasefire agreement, which ended on Saturday. Tel Aviv says it wants to extend the first phase to secure the release of hostages currently held by Hamas.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect in mid-January, following 15 months of war that began after Hamas launched a large-scale incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,170 people, according to Israeli figures.
Israel responded with a massive offensive in Gaza, killing more than 46,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
