Cairo—Arab leaders have approved and adopted Egypt’s Gaza reconstruction plan that would allow residents to remain in their territory while the huge rebuilding process goes on.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said at the summit that he was certain the US President Donald Trump would be able to achieve peace in the conflict that has devastated the Gaza Strip, according to Reuters.
When asked earlier about Egypt’s Gaza plan and whether the US would support it, White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said that “while the President stands by his bold vision for a post-war Gaza, he welcomes input from our Arab partners in the region”.
“It’s clear his [Trump’s] proposals have driven the region to come to the table rather than allow this issue to devolve into further crisis,” Hughes stressed.
In a statement after the conclusion of the Cairo’s summit, Hamas welcomed the reconstruction plan and hoped that all measures be taken to ensure the plan’s success.
Hamas also endorsed a proposed administrative committee for Gaza and commended Egypt’s efforts in preparing an international reconstruction conference.
President Sisi said that Egypt had worked in cooperation with Palestinians on creating an administrative committee of independent, professional Palestinian technocrats entrusted with the governance of Gaza.
The committee would be responsible for the oversight of humanitarian aid and managing the Strip’s affairs for a temporary period, in preparation for the return of the Palestinian Authority (PA), he added.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said the individuals who will lead the committee managing the Gaza enclave for six months have been decided.
“The future of Gaza will be managed by a non-partisan committee temporarily, and in parallel the Palestinian Authority will be empowered so that it can operate on the ground and undertake security tasks and tasks related to early recovery and reconstruction,” Abdelatty said as cited by Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Israeli foreign ministry in a statement called the plan “rooted in outdated perspectives” and rejected the reliance on the PA.
However, observers around the world maintain that Israel keeps on ignoring the fact that it is the occupying power for over seventy years and bears all responsibility towards the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank.
The reconstruction plan for Gaza is a 112-page document that includes maps of how its land would be re-developed, dozens of colorful AI-generated images of housing developments, gardens and community centers. The plan includes a commercial harbor, an industrial zone, beach hotels and an airport.
The ambitious, $53 billion plan that will be completely implemented by 2030 has two phases: The first calls for starting the removal of unexploded ordnance and clearing the more than 50 million tons of rubble left by Israel’s bombardment and military offensives.
Hundreds of thousands of temporary housing units would be set up where Gaza’s population could live while reconstruction takes place. The rubble would be recycled, and some of it would be used as infill to create expanded lands on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.
In the following years, the plan envisages completely reshaping the strip, building “sustainable, green and walkable” housing and urban areas, with renewable energy. It renovates agricultural lands and creates industrial zones and large park areas.
It also calls for opening an airport, a fishing port and a commercial port. The Oslo peace accords in the 1990s called for the opening of an airport and commercial port in Gaza, but the projects withered as the peace process collapsed.
Egypt’s reconstruction plan is in many ways fulfills US President Trump’s vision of “Gaza Riviera” but without resorting to displacing Palestinians who have already been refugees in their own homeland since the creation of Israel in 1948.
Antonio Costa, president of the European Commission, told the Arab summit in Cairo that, “the European Union firmly rejects any attempt at demographic or territorial changes, in Gaza, in other parts of the world. Anywhere,” as cited by the Associated Press.
The EU is “committed to the two-state solution, where Palestine and Israel can live side-by-side in peace and security,” he added. Costa said the EU is ready to provide “concrete support” to Egypt’s counterproposal for Gaza. “Together, we should implement this plan,” according to AP.
At the meantime, in violation of the ceasefire agreement that was worked out by US President Trump even before he assumed power, Israel is again blocking food, fuel, medicine and other desperately needed supplies from entering Gaza.
According to news reports, the suspension of aid drew widespread criticism, with human rights groups saying that it violated Israel’s obligations as an occupying power under international law.