An Arab post-war plan for the Gaza Strip’s reconstruction and governance has been met with silence from the US and scorn from Israel, which doubled down on its call for the forced displacement of Palestinians.
The Arab League endorsed the Egyptian plan on Tuesday and warned of “sinful” attempts to displace Palestinians.
According to the text reviewed by Middle East Eye, Jordan and Egypt would train a Palestinian police force. The plan also calls for the potential deployment of United Nations peacekeeping forces to Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
The proposal calls for 10 churches and 200 mosques to be built. It also envisions green spaces and parks where Israel has demolished homes to create a military buffer zone.
Reconstruction is envisioned to occur over five years with a $53bn price tag, well below the 15 years the Trump administration estimated. Arab leaders agreed to establish a trust fund that would finance the reconstruction.
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Images attached to the 91-page Egyptian proposal show leafy temporary housing units where Palestinians will live while construction is underway. The plan calls for the return of the Palestinian Authority to the Gaza Strip.
In response to the plan, the Israeli foreign ministry on Tuesday released a statement accusing Arab states of using Palestinians “as pawns against Israel” and relying on “outdated perspectives”.
Egypt also announced on Tuesday that the individuals who would lead the governing committee for Gaza for six months have already been decided.
Hamas backs plan
The proposal comes at a critical time, with the Gaza ceasefire effectively collapsed. The Trump administration has said it will back Israel if it resumes its war on Gaza. Israel has halted all aid delivery to the Strip and says it plans to cut off electricity, resuming its siege.
“With President Trump’s idea, there is an opportunity for the Gazans to have free choice based on their free will. This should be encouraged! Instead, Arab states have rejected this opportunity, without giving it a fair chance, and continue to level baseless accusations against Israel,” Israel’s foreign ministry said on X.
As of Tuesday evening, the Trump administration had yet to comment on the proposal.
An Egyptian official told MEE that Cairo envisioned Israel would throw cold water on the plan. Israel has ruled out a return of the Palestinian Authority to the Gaza Strip, and has latched on to President Trump’s call for Palestinians to be forcibly displaced.
The Egyptian official said Cairo worked on the plan with Trump’s call for Gaza’s Mediterranean waterfront to be utilised in mind. Computerised images of post-war Gaza show sleek limestone buildings, gardens, universities, and hospitals.
“The Americans want ‘no Hamas,’ but they are not committed to ethnic cleansing,” the official said, suggesting that the Arabs hope they can drive a wedge between Israel and the United States.
Egypt and Jordan believe they dissuaded Trump from a US takeover of Gaza and forced displacement, MEE reported previously.
Although the plan leaves out specific details about security in the Gaza Strip, it is quite clear that Arab states will be involved and that the Palestinian Authority will eventually govern.
Notably, Hamas, which had previously rejected any outside forces in Gaza, backed the Egyptian plan on Tuesday.
If the plan is successful, the Egyptian official told MEE it would include Arab peacekeepers led by Egypt dismantling or removing Hamas’s missiles and weapons manufacturing capabilities, although they admitted it would be harder to collect small arms.
The return of Mohammed Dahlan?
Hamas has already acquiesced to American and Egyptian private security contractors operating the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza during the ceasefire’s phase I.
Egypt’s plan appears to resemble those floated publicly by the United Arab Emirates in the summer of 2024.
The UAE has been pressing for a committee of Palestinian leaders to govern Gaza. They would be loyal to exiled former Fatah leader and Palestinian strongman Mohammed Dahlan, who would eventually be installed as successor to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, MEE previously reported.
Dahlan travels to Cairo almost monthly and is well received by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian official told MEE.
In a sign that the United Arab Emirates’ clout in Gaza might be rising, Abbas on Tuesday announced a general amnesty for expelled members of Fatah, a move that could leave the door open for Dahlan, and others, to return.
Abbas also said he was ready to hold presidential and legislative elections, which is a longstanding Emirati demand. Analysts say that the unpopular octogenarian Abbas would likely lose elections.
