The Egyptian government is developing a plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing the Palestinian enclave’s population, as it attempts to provide a viable alternative to United States President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to “take over” the territory and displace its population.
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”, the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Monday.
The newspaper added that Egypt expects to finalise the plan “by next week”, while its first phase should begin “after the emergency Arab summit in Cairo”, currently scheduled for February 27.
Before that, Saudi Arabia will 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.
Trump has caused international uproar since he returned to the White House in late January, as he has repeatedly suggested the US could “take over” and “own” Gaza, permanently resettle its Palestinian population of more than 2 million people, and redevelop the enclave into a holiday destination.
Trump has pressured both Egypt and Jordan to take in Gaza’s residents as part of the plan, in a proposal robustly rejected by both countries and decried as “ethnic cleansing” by rights groups.
Part of Cairo’s plan is to establish “secure areas” within Gaza where Palestinians can live while dozens of Egyptian and international construction firms remove and rehabilitate the Strip’s war-torn infrastructure, Al-Ahram reports.
The proposed reconstruction process will have three phases that will take up to five years, two Egyptian officials told The Associated Press (AP) news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.
‘Refute American President Trump’s logic’
The Al-Ahram newspaper says 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”.
Palestinians will be allowed to remain in Gaza during reconstruction, with three “safe zones” established within the territory to host them during an initial six-month “early recovery period”, the officials told the AP.
Mobile houses and shelters will be erected in the safe zones, while humanitarian aid will be allowed to stream in. The reconstruction effort will also provide tens of thousands of jobs to Gaza’s population, according to the anonymous Egyptian officials.
Cairo has also held discussions about ways to finance their plan with European diplomats, as well as Arab partners Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, the AP reports, citing Arab and European diplomats.
An international conference on Gaza’s reconstruction has also been floated, according to two of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity as the proposal is still being negotiated.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he remains “committed” to Trump’s plan for the “creation of a different Gaza”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also been in Saudi Arabia this week to push Trump’s plan.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Monday that he will establish a special directorate for the “voluntary departure” of Palestinians from the coastal enclave.
Katz’s office said Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) presented an initial proposal which would see “any Gaza resident who wants to emigrate to a third state” be given “extensive assistance” to do so.
Netanyahu has promised that “neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” will govern Gaza at the end of Israel’s 15-month war on the enclave, which has seen more than 48,000 Palestinians killed and sparked a humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
Hamas has said it is willing to give up power, with a spokesman telling the AP on Sunday that the group would accept the formulation of either a Palestinian unity government without its participation or a committee of technocrats to run the enclave.
