Gaza Reconstruction Must Be Palestinian Led—Breaking the Cycle of Destruction
The signatories of this position—groups and organizations representing a broad swath of Palestinian civil society in Palestine and in exile—stand firmly by key principles and demands that must guide Gaza’s reconstruction and recovery, as well as Palestine’s broader future. This process must be driven by a Palestinian vision that prioritizes the needs of the Palestinian people, informed by local consultations and agreed-upon principles including existing networks on the ground, and led by a legitimate and inclusive Palestinian political system.
This is the only path to preserve the Palestinian people on their land and ensure relief and recovery in Gaza in line with their fundamental rights to self-determination and return. Plans proposed by third states, deviating from these principles and demands entrench colonial and foreign control, denying Palestinians their rights.
For more than a year and a half, the Zionist regime has been conducting a genocide against our people in Gaza with the intention to destroy, ethnically cleanse and dispossess. The blockade on Gaza has intensified, the ceasefire is fragile and constantly violated by the Zionist regime and nothing will compensate for the wanton death and destruction caused by the genocide and the long years it will take for recovery and reconstruction, except for the liberation of our people from the shackles of Israeli colonialism, apartheid and occupation.
In this ocean of suffering, the Palestinian people have not lost their dignity, steadfastness and demand for self-determination. They continue to resist and prevent imminent ethnic cleansing and the takeover by the settler colonial regime.
For decades, we have endured harmful foreign interference, imposed agendas, and so-called “peace processes” which have undermined our fundamental rights and served Zionist colonial interests, leading to the destruction of Gaza and the current intensified ethnic cleansing across Palestine.
The U.S., primary provider of military and political backing necessary for Israel to commit its crimes with total impunity, is now working under the Trump administration, to normalize what Israel’s genocide has intended but failed to accomplish thus far: the mass ethnic cleansing of our Palestinian people from Gaza, with similar attack ongoing against our people in the West Bank. Meanwhile, Arab plans, such as the one endorsed on 4 March in Cairo, must adhere to the below principles and demands to break the cycle of destruction and fulfill our inalienable right to self-determination.
Our Key Principles and Demands
It is imperative that any relief, recovery and reconstruction plan for Gaza be defined and led by Palestinians, particularly from Gaza with the participation of a wide array of Palestinian civil society and stakeholders under a framework that ultimately seeks their liberation. It is also crucial that any viable process and plan be designed toward lifting the siege on Gaza, ensuring the territorial integrity of Palestine, ending the ongoing Nakba on Palestine, as well as ensuring the Palestinian right of return to their homes whether in Gaza, or the homes they were forced out of since 1948—a right that is non-negotiable and enshrined in international law. Any proposal such as the current promoted initiatives that do not address these root causes are thinly disguised efforts to perpetuate settler colonialism.
We, therefore, collectively reiterate the following demands:
To our People and the Solidarity Movement
Prioritize Palestinian Sumud: We call on all Palestinian in Palestine to persist in their dignified and heroic Sumud (defiant resilience), while we call on all Palestinians in exile and our allies to do everything in their power to support Sumud as a powerful tactic in resisting forcible transfer.
To the Palestinian Political Leadership
Palestinian reconciliation and unity are the priority: We call on the Palestinian political leadership to immediately forge a unified front to recognize, confront and neutralize the grave and imminent threats endangering our people, including through the implementation of the Beijing Declaration, and to urgently work toward:
Forming a temporary national recovery mechanism for Gaza to manage urgent humanitarian and recovery needs, inclusive, in its decision making and governance of broader Palestinian civil society constituencies, particularly from Gaza, including community-based organizations, sector practitioners and experts and the private sector.
Urgently opening the path for a democratically chosen Palestinian leadership, representative of the Palestinian people in Palestine and in exile, through inclusive and comprehensive elections.
Establishing an international supportive mechanism, not a custodial one, constituted of a diversity of states and allies of Palestine, particularly from the Global majority, to oversee the due implementation of these principles and demands.
To Third Party States
Enforce ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza: Thirds states must exert much higher pressure on the Israeli colonial regime to ensure an end to the genocide and respect of the ceasefire deal in all its phases, with the complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, the unconditional flow of goods and people, as well as the liberation of Palestinian prisoners.
Sanction and Hold Israel Accountable: All states must fulfil their obligations to cooperate in ending Israel’s illegal occupation, including through diplomatic and economic sanctions and arms embargoes, as affirmed by the ICJ’s July 2024 Advisory Opinion and the UNGA’s September 2024 resolution; and uphold their responsibilities under the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention by holding Israeli war criminals and those complicit in their crimes accountable.
Ensure Palestinian Agency and Self-determination: All states, particularly the Arab states should not go forward with plans that are not defined by Palestinians, particularly Gaza’s civil society, local authorities, medical professionals, the private sector, and community organizations. It can build upon Palestinian initiatives that are already underway, proposing dynamic visions rooted in Palestinian agency, and indigenous knowledge, creativity, capacity and decision making — such as the Gaza “Phoenix Plan”. Any plan can only be led and implemented by a democratically chosen Palestinian leadership.
Address Root Causes: States must ensure that any Gaza rebuilding plan is designed to break free from the cycle of Israeli destruction. This necessitates prioritizing ending the structural systems of oppression according to the principles reminded above and in order to fulfil Palestinian fundamental rights.
Original statement open for signature
Image: AI-generated image of Gaza recovery according to the plan adopted by the Arab League.
