Arab leaders have adopted a plan to rebuild Gaza that will cost tens of billions of pounds – and is in stark contrast to President Donald Trump’s proposal for the US to take control of the territory.
Israel’s military offensive in Gaza following the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 has left swathes of the densely populated area razed to the ground and nearly two million Palestinians displaced from their homes.
The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, including Israeli hostages being exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, continues to hold – but has become very fragile following the end of phase one with no agreement on phase two.
Questions remain about the future of Gaza, such as who will pay for the reconstruction and who will govern it.
What is Egypt’s plan for Gaza?
Discussed at a summit of Arab nations on Tuesday, the plan comes after Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf Arab states spent almost a month consulting on an alternative to Mr Trump’s proposal.
The 112-page document includes maps of how its land would be re-developed and dozens of colourful AI-generated images of housing developments, gardens and community centres.
It also includes a commercial harbour, a technology hub, beach hotels and an airport.
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Unlike Mr Trump’s plan, Egypt’s proposal would not see the mass displacement of Palestinians.
In terms of who would run Gaza, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el Sisi said Egypt had worked in cooperation with Palestinians to create a committee of independent Palestinian technocrats who would be entrusted with governing Gaza after the war.
This committee would oversee humanitarian aid and would manage the territory for a temporary period, before governance is eventually handed over to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which currently governs in the West Bank.
The other critical issue is what happens to Hamas. It has been in charge in Gaza since 2007, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy the group.
Hamas has agreed not to field candidates for the technocrat committee, but it would have to give its consent to the tasks, members and the agenda of the committee that would work under the PA’s supervision.
The Israeli foreign ministry called the plan “rooted in outdated perspectives” and rejected the reliance on the PA, while complaining Hamas was left in power by the plan. The US also voiced its disapproval.
Sky News understands foreign ministers from the Middle East countries plan to present the plan to the US secretary of state in the coming fortnight to agree details, with the hope that leaders can then meet Mr Trump in the US to agree it.
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What is President Trump’s plan for Gaza?
The US leader’s claims that the US should take control of Gaza and build a “Riviera” were condemned internationally – and an AI video shared by the president showing a giant golden Trump statue was not well received either.
Speaking alongside Mr Netanyahu last month, Mr Trump said the US will take over Gaza and “own it”.
He said the US would “develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs” and turn it into “something the entire Middle East can be very proud of”.
Mr Trump said the two million Palestinians living in the territory, which he described as a “demolition site”, could be relocated to Egypt and Jordan – something both countries as well as other Arab nations have rejected.
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Asked on what authority the US could take control of Gaza, Mr Trump told reporters he sees a “long term ownership position” which would, he claimed, bring stability to that part of the Middle East.
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“This was not a decision made lightly,” he said.
“Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs.”
It would be the “Riviera of the Middle East”, he added.
