Egyptian Gaza plan seeks control over Hamas’ weapons and distribution of residential blocks [Getty]
Egypt’s diplomatic plan for Gaza’s future is set to be presented to US President Donald Trump after receiving approval at key upcoming summits in Riyadh and Cairo.
Sources from Egyptian and diplomatic circles from the Arab League told The New Arab‘s Arabic language edition Al Araby Al-Jadeed there was division among regional powers over the proposed strategy.
According to a high-ranking Egyptian diplomat based in Washington, the initiative from Cairo is divided into two phases, which are estimated to cost tens of billions of dollars.
The first phase spans ten years and primarily focuses on rebuilding Gaza’s infrastructure, housing, and residential sectors.
The plan includes the redistribution of population clusters in Gaza, particularly by easing the density of the population in northern Gaza and creating less populated zones near illegal Israeli settlements.
The proposal has sparked criticism from several Gulf nations. A senior Arab diplomat revealed that one Gulf state had directly engaged with Israeli and US officials to voice opposition to the plan, particularly the provisions that would allow Gaza’s residents to remain in place rather than be forcibly displaced.
Another key element of the first phase is the regulation of weapons. Cairo’s approach seeks to address concerns from international donors financing Gaza’s reconstruction while respecting Palestinian armed groups’ demands of retaining their arms until a Palestinian state is established.
The plan includes monitoring and regulating weapon storage facilities under both Egyptian and European oversight, without disarming these groups outright.
Several diplomats have opposed Cairo’s dual approach towards Hamas, arguing that it would serve Egypt’s interests by ensuring the movement remains a thorn in Israel’s side, potentially undermining long-term regional investments and stability.
Another crucial aspect of this stage involves the establishment of an Arab-led committee, with Egypt at the helm, tasked with resolving disputes between local security forces and militant factions.
This committee would build on the existing Egyptian-Qatari team that has overseen the return of displaced people from southern Gaza to the north.
The second phase, still open for Arab discussion and refinement, would start the process of establishing a Palestinian state, focusing on creating links between Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.
Sources close to the negotiations indicated that Israel insists on having full oversight of Gaza’s reconstruction to prevent Hamas from gaining any strength during the rebuilding process, even if the group does not directly participate.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has reportedly discussed the plan with Arab and Western officials, hoping to gain a unified Arab stance to challenge US and Israeli opposition.
Israel has already reportedly rejected the plan, and has said on several occasions that it does not want Palestinian governance in the Gaza Strip.
It comes as Arab leaders are set to gather in Saudi Arabia on Friday to counter Trump’s plan for US control of Gaza.
Trump provoked international outrage when he announced that the United States would “take over the Gaza Strip”, moving 2.4 million Gazans living there to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan.
Umer Karim, an expert on Saudi foreign policy, told AFP the summit would be the “most consequential” in decades to the wider Arab world and the Palestinian issue.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Gaza – has welcomed Trump’s suggestion for the US to take over the Gaza Strip and forcibly displace its Palestinian inhabitants
