Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty said Cairo is “actively developing a comprehensive, multi-phase plan for Gaza’s early recovery and reconstruction”, the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Monday.
Egypt anticipates finalizing the plan “by next week,” according to the newspaper, and that the first phase should begin “after the emergency Arab summit in Cairo, which is currently scheduled for February 27.
Before that, Saudi Arabia will host officials from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan on Thursday, as part of a five-way Arab meeting in the capital Riyadh to discuss Cairo’s proposed reconstruction.
Since returning to the White House in late January, Trump has sparked international outcry, making it clear that the US could “take over” and “own” Gaza, permanently resettle its more than 2 million Palestinians, and redevelop the area into a vacation spot.
In a proposal that both Egypt and Jordan have strongly rejected and called “ethnic cleansing,” Trump has pressured both Egypt and Jordan to accept residents of Gaza as part of the plan.
Part of Cairo’s plan is to establish “secure areas” within Gaza where Palestinians can live while dozens of Egyptian and international construction firms remove and rehabilitate the Strip’s war-torn infrastructure, Al-Ahram reports.
Two Egyptian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press (AP) news agency that the proposed reconstruction process would consist of three five-year phases.
‘ Refute American President Trump’s logic ‘
According to the Al-Ahram newspaper, Egypt’s formulation of its own plan was intended to “refute American President Trump’s logic” and to oppose “any other visions or plans that aim to alter the Gaza Strip’s geographic and demographic structure.”
According to the officials, three “safe zones” will be set up within the territory to house Palestinians during the initial six-month “early recovery period” and allow them to remain there while reconstruction is ongoing.
In the safe zones, mobile homes and shelters will be constructed, and there will be access to humanitarian aid. According to the unidentified Egyptian officials, the reconstruction effort will also provide tens of thousands of jobs to the population of Gaza.
Cairo has also held discussions about ways to finance their plan with European diplomats, as well as Arab partners Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, the AP reports, citing Arab and European diplomats.
Two of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity while the proposal is still being negotiated, claim that an international conference on Gaza’s reconstruction has also been proposed.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he remains “committed” to Trump’s plan for the “creation of a different Gaza”. This week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Saudi Arabia to promote Trump’s plan.
Israel Katz, the country’s defense minister, made the announcement on Monday that he would create a special directorate to oversee Palestinians’ “voluntary departure” from the coastal enclave.
Katz’s office claimed that the initial proposal from Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) would allow “any Gaza resident who wants to immigrate to a third state” to receive “extensive assistance”.
At the conclusion of Israel’s 15-month battle against the enclave, which resulted in the deaths of more than 48 000 Palestinians and a humanitarian crisis there, Netanyahu has promised that “neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” will rule Gaza.
Source: Aljazeera
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