The United States and Israel rejected Egypt’s proposal for a postwar reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which aims to avoid displacing millions of Palestinians.
President Donald Trump sparked outrage and panic from the Arab world by declaring that the U.S. would look to take over the Gaza Strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” The concern was largely over the implication that it would involve the displacement of the Palestinians.
“The current proposal does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance,” White House spokesman Brian Hughes said of the plan, according to Reuters.
“President Trump stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas,” he added.
The Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement that Egypt’s plan was “rooted in outdated perspectives,” criticizing the proposal’s reliance on the Palestinian Authority and the continued presence of Hamas.
A source close to Saudi Arabia’s royal court said the primary stumbling block was the plan allowing for the continued armed presence of Hamas despite sidelining the U.S.-designated terrorist organization from the governing body.
Egypt’s proposed $53 billion reconstruction plan was introduced at an emergency summit of Arab states in Cairo. The 112-page plan used AI-generated images to showcase some of the plans for the enclave, including housing developments, gardens, community centers, a commercial harbor, a technology hub, beach hotels, and an airport.
The plan was widely backed by the Arab states attending the summit.
The reconstruction project would be funded by a variety of groups, including the United Nations, and run by an administrative committee of independent Palestinian technocrats under the control of the PA. Hamas said in a statement that it agreed not to field candidates to the proposed committee under the condition that the group consents to the committee’s tasks, members, and agenda.
In an interview with the Times of Israel, Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Council member Ahmed Majdalani, a close confidant to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, said the organization would cut ties with the U.S. if Trump went ahead with his plan. He said it has decided against cutting ties thus far because it doesn’t believe the plan will be implemented.
“We have been listening to Mr. Trump’s advisers who have explicitly said that this is just a proposal — not an obligatory plan of action,” he said.
EGYPT’S PLAN FOR GAZA’S FUTURE SIDELINES HAMAS
The war in Gaza is the deadliest in Israel’s history. While casualty counts are controversial, the Gaza Health Ministry, overseen by Hamas, reports that 48,000 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023, most of them women and children, though its figures don’t distinguish between civilians and fighters. It says another 110,000 have been wounded, while nearly the entire population has been displaced.
Over 400 Israel Defense Forces soldiers have been killed in operations in Gaza. Roughly 1,200 Israelis were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 surprise attack that ignited the war.
