ANKARA 

The grand imam of Al-Azhar in Egypt, the highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning, called on Arab leaders on Tuesday to take a “unified stance” on plans to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

Egypt is set to host an emergency Arab summit on Tuesday to formulate a unified Arab stance on the Palestinian issue and present an Arab counterproposal to US plans for the displacement of Gaza's population.

"We pray to God to grant success to the Arab leaders gathered at the Arab summit in Cairo," Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb said in a statement on his X account.

"We urge them to stand united and adopt a unified stance to confront the unacceptable plans to displace Palestinians from their land," he added.

The grand imam called for activating “an Arab proposal for the reconstruction of Gaza to put an end to the arrogance and chaos of some decision-makers who back the occupying entity (Israel)," Tayeb said.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called to “take over” Gaza and resettle its population to develop it into a tourist destination. His plan was rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Nearly 48,400 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 111,000 others injured in a brutal Israeli war on Gaza since October 2023. The onslaught, which left the enclave in ruins, was paused under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold on Jan. 19.

Israel, however, halted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Sunday, hours after the expiry of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.