The Gaza reconstruction proposal was approved by Arab leaders at a summit in Cairo on Tuesday and would allow Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians to remain in the Strip without displacement.
Arab leaders on Tuesday approved Egypt’s postwar plan for the Gaza Strip, countering the Trump plan to depopulate the territory and redevelop it as a beach destination.
The $53 billion (€49.6bn) plan, endorsed by Arab leaders at a summit in Cairo, would allow Gaza’s roughly 2 million left over Palestinians to remain living in the Mediterranean Strip.
We welcome any proposals or ideas from the international community to ensure the success of this plan, which needs to be implemented side by side with a greater plan for peace, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi stated in a media post after the meeting.
The proposed project aims for a comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian issue, ends the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, guarantees the security and stability of the peoples of the region, and establishes the Palestinian State.
President, el-Sisi expressed his eagerness to collaborate with the USA, other Arab countries, and the international community at large.
Egypt’s plan, also dubbed the Arab Plan, foresees rebuilding Gaza by 2030 without forcibly removing its population to live in refugee camps in the Sinai desert.
The first phase would involve clearing more than 50 million tonnes of debris left by Israel’s military offensives and shelling, as well as beginning the cleanup of unexploded ordnance.
The plan envisages completely reshaping the Strip and building sustainable, green, and walk-able housing and urban areas with renewable energy in the following years. It would also renovate agricultural lands and create industrial zones and large park areas.
The scheme also calls for the opening of an airport, a fishing port, and a commercial port. The Oslo Peace Accords in the 1990’s already envisaged an airport and a commercial port in Gaza, but the projects withered by the Israeli regime as the peace process collapsed.
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has welcomed the proposal, saying it valued Arab leaders’ rejection of attempts to transfer Palestinians from their lands. However, the scheme was rejected by Israeli Zionist authorities.
Oren Marmorstein, spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry, said in a post on X that the Egyptian plan fails to address the realities of the situation and said the summit’s joint communiqué does not mention or condemn Hamas that caused the genocidal conflict.
Marmorstein instead reaffirmed Israel’s support for Trump’s plan to resettle Gaza’s population elsewhere, describing it as an opportunity for the Gazan’s to have free choice based on their free will, as Gaza was completely destroyed by Israeli tanks and airstrikes.
Meanwhile, the White House in its initial reaction said it welcomed input from Arab nations but insisted Hamas could not remain in power in the territory.
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 proposals have driven the region to come to the table rather than allow this issue to devolve into further crisis.
In the Arab-approved plan, Hamas would cede power to an interim administration of political independents until a reformed Palestinian Authority can assume control.
However, White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said, President Trump has been clear that Hamas cannot continue to govern Gaza.
Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the summit’s final communiqué calls on the UN Security Council to deploy an international peacekeeping force in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Peace is the Arabs’ strategic option, he told a news conference, adding that the communique rejected the transfer of Palestinians and endorsed Egypt’s reconstruction plan. The Egyptian plan creates a path for a new security and political context in Gaza.
According to AP, a 112-page draft of the plan states that hundreds of thousands of temporary housing units would be established for Gaza’s residents during reconstruction.
On Gaza’s Mediterranean shore, some of the recycled rubble would then be used as infill to increase the land area. Last month, Trump startled the region by proposing that the approximately 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza be relocated to other nations.
According to Trump, the USA would reclaim and turn the land into a riviera in the Middle East. His plan was vehemently opposed by Palestinians, Arab nations and human rights experts who claimed it would probably be against international law.
However, it has been endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Euro News / ABC Flash Point News 2025.
I can’t help but feel this is just a lull in the fighting. Until a two state solution is achieved it will simply go back to what was.
Arab leaders on Tuesday approved Egypt’s postwar plan for the Gaza Strip, countering the Trump plan to depopulate the territory and redevelop it as a beach destination.