Syria: President Al-Sharaa invited to Arab League summit on Gaza amid outcry over Trump plan
DAMASCUS, SYRIA - DECEMBER 30: The leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa waits to greet Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (not in picture) ahead of a meeting between the Syrian leadership and a Ukrainian delegation to help strengthen ties between the two countries on December 30, 2024 in Damascus, Syria. Syria is transitioning after the fall of the Baath regime and the Assad family's rule, with a temporary administration now in place in Damascus and Aleppo. (Photo by Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)
New Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has received an official invitation from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to attend an extraordinary Arab League summit set for March 4 in Cairo, the Syrian presidency confirmed on Sunday.
“The president of the Syrian Arab Republic, Mr Ahmed al-Sharaa, received an official invitation from the president of the Arab Republic of Egypt… to participate in the extraordinary Arab League summit,” the statement read.
The summit was convened in response to a controversial proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump, who suggested that his government take control of Gaza and transform it into the “Riviera of the Middle East” while relocating Palestinian inhabitants to Egypt and Jordan.
His plan has triggered widespread condemnation across the Arab world and beyond. The United Nations has warned against what it calls “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, while al-Sharaa strongly denounced the proposal, calling it “a very huge crime that cannot happen.”
Syria, previously suspended from the Arab League in 2011 under Bashar al-Assad’s rule, was reinstated in 2023. However, a swift military takeover by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham last year led to al-Assad’s ouster, paving the way for al-Sharaa’s rise to power.
Despite its previous support for al-Assad, Egypt has since maintained cautious engagement with the new Syrian leadership.
The Cairo summit will mark al-Sharaa’s first official appearance at the Arab League as Syria’s new president.
