Egypt has proposed a $53 billion plan to rebuild Gaza over five years, focusing on emergency relief, infrastructure restoration and long-term economic development, according to a draft document seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Tuesday, February 4, that the Palestinian Authority would reassume control over the Gaza Strip under the plan. Abbas said in his opening remarks at an Arab League summit in Cairo that his administration could assume "its duties in the Gaza Strip through its governmental institutions, and a working committee has been formed for this purpose." Under the post-war plan, the Palestinian Authority's security apparatus would take "on its responsibilities after restructuring and unifying the cadres present in the Gaza Strip and training them in Egypt and Jordan."
Arab leaders met in Cairo on Tuesday in order to discuss a plan for Gaza's reconstruction to counter a proposal floated by United States President Donald Trump to take over Gaza and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
In his opening remarks, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that his government's plan for Gaza's post-war reconstruction would ensure that a committee under the PA runs the territory. "Egypt, in cooperation with its brothers in Palestine, worked to form an administrative committee of independent Palestinian professionals and technocrats entrusted with managing the Gaza Strip based on the expertise of its members," Sisi said. Sisi added that the plan proposed by Egypt would ensure that "the Palestinian people remain on their land.
The draft plan, shared by a diplomatic source with AFP, outlines two phases: an early recovery phase and a reconstruction phase. The early recovery phase, expected to last six months and cost $3 billion, would focus on "removing mines and unexploded ordnance, clearing debris and providing temporary housing."
To address immediate shelter needs in that phase, Egypt proposes setting up seven designated sites within Gaza to house more than 1.5 million displaced people in temporary housing units, each accommodating an average of six people. The plan also includes initial repairs to 60,000 partially damaged homes to accommodate 360,000 people.
The reconstruction phase would take place in two stages over four and a half years. The first stage, running until 2027 with a budget of $20 billion, would focus on rebuilding essential infrastructure, including roads, utility networks and public service facilities. It also calls for constructing 200,000 permanent housing units for 1.6 million people and reclaiming 20,000 acres of land.
The second stage, extending to 2030 at an estimated cost of $30 billion, aims to complete infrastructure projects, build another 200,000 housing units and establish industrial zones, a fishing port, a commercial seaport and an airport.
The plan proposes creating an internationally supervised trust fund to ensure efficient and sustainable funding, as well as transparency and oversight. Cairo will also host a high-level ministerial conference to bring together donor countries, international and regional financial institutions, the private sector and civil society groups to secure funding. Egyptian state-linked media Al-Qahera News reported that the Arab summit's draft final communique welcomed the convening of the international conference in Cairo this month.
Under the Egyptian plan, Palestinian militant group Hamas would be sidelined and replaced in Gaza with a committee made up of independent technocrats and non-partisan figures. The committee, according to the draft, would be formed under the Palestinian Authority to manage the territory for a transitional period of six months. The PA would then fully resume control over the enclave.
The PA had previously governed Gaza before Hamas ousted it from the territory in 2007. After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel vowed to crush Hamas, and to ensure that it would have no part in ruling over Gaza.
According to the draft, Egypt and Jordan are training PA-affiliated security forces to take on law enforcement in Gaza. The plan also calls for international and regional support to help fund this effort.
The plan raises the prospect of an international presence in the Palestinian territories, including a possible UN Security Council resolution to deploy peacekeeping or protection forces in Gaza and the West Bank. This would be part of a broader "timeline leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state and the building of its capabilities."
The plan acknowledges the challenge posed by armed factions in Gaza, saying the issue could be resolved through a "credible political process" that restores Palestinian rights and offers a clear path forward.
The Arab summit's draft final communique also calls for holding elections in all Palestinian territories within one year, provided that appropriate conditions are met, according to Egyptian state-linked media. On Tuesday, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said presidential and legislative elections for the PA could be held next year, around two decades since the last general vote.