A plan for Gaza’s long-term future created by Egypt calls for the exclusion of Hamas from the governing body once the war ends.
Egyptian leaders presented the plan to Arab leaders from around the region in Cairo on Tuesday. Both the proposal and summit came in response to President Donald Trump’s outlined plan for the besieged enclave.
Trump’s plan calls for the complete depopulation of Gaza, relocating Palestinians to neighboring Arab nations, while the U.S. leads a reconstruction effort that Trump’s Middle East envoy has said could take 10-15 years. The plan inspired outrage from Arab leaders, which viewed the plan as forcing Palestinians off of their land without any promise of the ability to return.
The Egyptian plan, according to CNN, rejects the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, and calls for the creation of an independent Palestinian committee to rule Gaza for a six-month interim period “under the umbrella of” the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank. It also calls on the United Nations Security Council to consider deploying international peacekeepers to both Gaza and the West Bank.
Egypt estimates the cost of reconstruction would be around $53 billion, though the plan does not specify who will pay for it or how they would push Hamas aside. It calls for the development of an airport, a fishing port, and a commercial port.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a six-week ceasefire in January, and the first phase of it was set to expire over the weekend. They have not agreed on how to move forward from here, but it continues to hold. Hamas still holds 59 hostages it took on Oct. 7, 2023, and the Israeli government believes as many as 24 of them are still alive.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday that Israel backs a U.S. proposal to extend the current phase of the ceasefire during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover. Israel also said Hamas had rejected such a proposal.
A primary concern for the Israelis is ensuring Hamas cannot reconstitute and continue governing the Gaza Strip, though senior leaders have not shared a clear plan for who it would want as the long-term answer to Gaza’s governance. Netanyahu does not believe the Palestinian Authority should govern over Gaza.
The Trump administration agrees that Hamas cannot be a part of Gaza’s governance following the war.
ISRAEL CUTS OFF GAZA AID TO PRESSURE HAMAS TO ACCEPT NEW CEASEFIRE PROPOSAL
Israel threatened to stop allowing humanitarian aid from getting into the Gaza Strip over Hamas’s rejection of the negotiations. Egypt and Qatar accused Israel of violating humanitarian law by threatening to use starvation as a weapon.