Egyptian officials have rejected a proposal put forward by opposition leader Yair Lapid on Tuesday, which suggested that Egypt take responsibility for Gaza for 15 years. Sources close to the Egyptian government, speaking to Saudi TV channel Al-Hadath, clarified that “Cairo rejects any proposal to manage the Gaza Strip. Gaza will be managed by the Palestinians and in coordination with them. Cairo is committed to rebuilding Gaza without displacement.”
Lapid introduced his plan publicly for the first time during a conference hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington. Prior to this, he had shared the plan with senior members of the Trump administration and high-ranking U.S. senators during his visit to the United States.
Egypt, which had previously turned down a similar proposal by former U.S. President Donald Trump that involved the U.S. taking control of Gaza and relocating its residents to Egypt or Jordan, is now proposing its own strategy for Gaza.
Last week, Egypt’s state-run newspaper, Al-Ahram, shared some of the specifics of its plan for Gaza’s reconstruction without requiring the relocation of its people. According to the report, the plan involves temporarily moving Gazans to “secure areas” within the Strip while Egyptian and international construction companies carry out rebuilding efforts.
The Associated Press cited two Egyptian officials who revealed that the Egyptian proposal includes the establishment of a “Palestinian administration” that would be independent of both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. This administration would oversee the reconstruction efforts. It would also feature a police force composed primarily of former Palestinian Authority policemen who remained in Gaza after Hamas seized control in 2007, augmented by forces trained by Egypt and Western countries.
Last week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met in Riyadh with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, and Qatar to discuss Egypt’s alternative plan to that of Trump.
Before the summit in Riyadh, President Al-Sisi urged the international community to back a plan for Gaza’s reconstruction that would not involve displacing its residents. At a press conference in Madrid with Spain’s prime minister, Al-Sisi stated, “We stressed the importance of the international community adopting a plan to reconstruct the Gaza strip without displacing Palestinians — I repeat, without displacing Palestinians from their lands.”
{Matzav.com Israel}