Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said on Tuesday that Arab leaders meeting in Cairo have approved Egypt’s counter-proposal to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to rebuild Gaza.
The meeting was hosted by Egypt and attended by the Emir of Qatar, the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates and the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, among others.
Egypt’s plan is a counter-proposal to President Trump’s plan in January to resettle Palestinians outside Gaza during the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. The plan calls for Gaza residents to remain in temporary housing in seven specific locations in the Gaza Strip during the removal of debris and mines.
Egypt and many other Arab countries oppose the part of Trump’s plan that calls for the relocation of Gaza Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip during reconstruction.
In his speech, Egyptian President Sisi thanked Trump for his efforts to help rebuild Gaza and said the plan proposed by Egypt involves a temporary administration to govern Gaza.
He said Egypt proposed a group of technocrats to temporarily run Gaza while training a new Palestinian police force and trying to secure donor funds to rebuild destroyed areas. He also said Egypt would host a donor conference next month.
Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza remains tense and conflict could flare up again. Israel accused Hamas, which the United States has designated as a terrorist organization, of using aid entering Gaza as “its main source of income” and stopped delivering aid to Gaza on Saturday.
Said Sadek, a professor of political sociology at the Egyptian-Japanese University in Alexandria, told VOA that many Arabs oppose disarming Hamas and forcing it to give up its authority to rebuild Gaza:
“Basically, the summit will discuss how to marginalize Hamas, create an international Muslim peace force and train Palestinian police so that the reconstruction process can proceed,” he said. “Of course the question is how can you force Hamas to leave Gaza, how can you deprive them of their weapons?”
Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV reported that Arab leaders are expected to approve a proposal for the United Nations to help create a joint Arab-international peacekeeping force to temporarily administer Gaza, with a group of technocrats trained in the Palestinian New Police Force to manage the region. Egypt has refused to resume control over Gaza, which it ruled from 1948 to 1967 and was occupied by Israel during the Seven Day War.
Speaking to Arab media, Arab League spokesman Jamal Rushdy sought to downplay disagreements over Egypt’s Gaza plan:
He said the plan to rebuild Gaza is just the beginning of a long road to rebuilding Gaza and securing the funds needed for reconstruction.
Hamas has ruled out handing over power and says it will keep its weapons, which Hamas leaders have called a “red line.” In response, Israel has threatened to resume hostilities, and Israeli media say Hamas has recruited more fighters to return its strength to pre-conflict levels of 30,000.
