Cairo:
Countering US President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to “take over” Gaza and displace the Palestinians living there, Egypt has floated a plan to rebuild the enclave without removing its population from their homes. Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty said Cairo is “actively developing a comprehensive, multi-phase plan for Gaza’s early recovery and reconstruction”, according to a report by state-run Al-Ahram newspaper.
Per the report published on Monday, Iran’s plan is expected to be finalised “by next week”. The work on the first phase of the plan may begin “after the emergency Arab summit in Cairo”, currently scheduled for February 27.
Saudi Arabia is set to host officials from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan on Thursday, as part of a five-way Arab meeting in the capital Riyadh to discuss Cairo’s proposed reconstruction.
A Look Into Egypt’s Plan
Cairo’s proposal reportedly calls for establishing “secure areas” within Gaza where Palestinians can live for an initial six months while Egyptian and international construction firms remove and rehabilitate the territory’s infrastructure.
Humanitarian aid will be allowed to stream to the mobile houses and shelters erected in the safe zones. The reconstruction effort will also provide tens of thousands of jobs to Gaza’s population, according to a report by Associated Press.
Egyptian officials have been discussing the plan with European diplomats as well as with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, AP reported quoting two Egyptian officials and Arab and Western diplomats.
Sources said the involved parties are also discussing ways to fund the reconstruction, including an international conference on Gaza reconstruction, said one of the Egyptian officials and an Arab diplomat.
The newspaper said Egypt’s formulation of its own plan was designed to “refute American President Trump’s logic”, as well as counter “any other visions or plans that aim to change the geographic and demographic structure of Gaza Strip”.
But central in Egypt’s proposal is the establishment of a Palestinian administration that is not aligned with either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority to run the strip and oversee the reconstruction efforts, the AP report said quoting two Egyptian officials involved in the efforts.
It also reportedly called for a Palestinian police force mainly made up of former Palestinian Authority policemen who remained in Gaza after Hamas took over the enclave in 2007, with reinforcement from Egyptian- and Western-trained forces.
Asked about the possibility of deploying an Arab force in Gaza one Egyptian official and the Arab diplomat told the agency that Arab countries would only agree if there were a “clear path” for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Backlash Over Trump’s Gaza Plan
The proposal comes amid an international uproar over US President Trump’s call for the removal of Gaza’s population of some 2 million Palestinians. The Republican leader has repeatedly said the United States would take over the Gaza Strip and rebuild it into a “Riviera of the Middle East,” and Palestinians would not be allowed back into their land after the completion of the project.
He has also called neighbouring Arab nations including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to rehabilitate displaced Palestinians into their lands, a call they have refused to accept.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised the idea and says Israel is preparing to implement it.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in Saudi Arabia on Monday on a tour of the region, has said the United States was up to hearing alternative proposals. “If the Arab countries have a better plan, then that’s great,” Rubio said on Thursday while appearing on a US radio program “Clay and Buck Show.”
Gaza Truce
The ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in Gaza is nearing a critical juncture with its first phase due to run out in early March. Both parties must still negotiate a second phase meant to bring a release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a long-term halt to the war.
Most of Gaza’s residents have been displaced in the past 15 months of the war, which has flattened much of the enclave’s infrastructure.
Any reconstruction plan without a deal on the second phase would be impossible to implement, including an agreement on who will govern Gaza in the long term. Israel has demanded the elimination of Hamas as a political or military force in the territory, and international donors are unlikely to contribute to any rebuilding if Hamas is in charge.
Hamas has meanwhile said it is willing to give up power in Gaza. Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou told AP on Sunday that the group has accepted either a Palestinian unity government without Hamas’ participation or a committee of technocrats to run the territory. The Palestinian Authority, which governs pockets of the West Bank, has so far opposed any plans for Gaza that exclude it.