A $53bn (£41.4 billion) reconstruction plan to rival President Donald Trump’s idea for the US to “take over Gaza” and move out more than two million Palestinians has been approved by Arab leaders at an emergency summit in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
“The Egypt plan is now an Arab plan,” announced the secretary general of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit at the end of this hours-long gathering.
Without referring specifically to President Trump’s ideas, he underlined that “the Arab stance is to reject any displacement, whether it is voluntary or forced”.
Egypt had produced a detailed blueprint, with a 91-page glossy document including images of leafy neighbourhoods and grand public buildings, to counter a US scheme labelled as a “Middle East Riviera” which shocked the Arab world and beyond.
What distinguishes this new plan is that it goes beyond property development; it is rooted in politics and the rights of Palestinians.
In his opening remarks, Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi emphasized the need for a parallel effort alongside physical reconstruction to advance the two-state solution—a Palestinian state coexisting with Israel.
This approach is widely supported by Arab states and many others as the only viable path to lasting peace, but it remains firmly rejected by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies.
The proposal suggests that Gaza would be temporarily governed by a “Gaza management committee under the umbrella of the Palestinian government,” composed of qualified technocrats.
However, it largely sidesteps the question of Hamas’s role, making only a vague reference to the “obstacle” posed by militant groups and stating that the issue would be resolved if the root causes of the conflict with Israel were addressed.
While some Arab states advocate for Hamas’s complete dismantling, others believe such decisions should be left to the Palestinians.
Hamas is said to have accepted that it will not govern Gaza but remains firm that disarmament is a red line.
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Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who previously praised President Trump’s plan as “visionary”—continues to reject any role for both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in Gaza’s future governance.
The sensitive issue of security was addressed by urging the UN Security Council to deploy international peacekeepers.
Next month, a major international conference will be held to secure the vast sums needed for reconstruction.
Wealthy Gulf states seem willing to cover a significant portion of the enormous costs, but investors remain hesitant—unwilling to commit unless they are assured that another war won’t bring everything crashing down again.
That uncertainty is only deepened by a fragile ceasefire, which now appears on the verge of collapse.
The new Arab-led plan for rebuilding Gaza is structured in three phases. The first, an early recovery stage lasting about six months, would focus on clearing the vast amounts of rubble and unexploded ordnance. Two subsequent phases would span several years.
During this period, the 1.5 million displaced Palestinians would be housed in temporary container units, which, according to glossy promotional materials, are depicted as well-constructed homes set in landscaped areas.
President Trump has repeatedly questioned, “Why wouldn’t they want to move?” His characterization of Gaza as a “demolition site” highlights the extent of the devastation. According to the UN, 90% of homes have been damaged or destroyed.
Every essential component of a functioning society—schools, hospitals, sewage systems, and electricity lines—has been left in ruins.
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