CAIRO (Reuters) – Arab leaders meet in Cairo on Tuesday with Egypt to present a plan for Gaza that would sideline Hamas and create interim bodies run by Arab, Muslim and Western states in contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump’s idea of a “Middle East Riviera”.
Who will run Gaza is the big unanswered question in negotiations over the future of the Palestinian enclave shattered by 15 months of Israel’s war with Hamas.
The militant group has said it rejects any solution imposed on the Gaza Strip by outsiders.
Egypt, Jordan and Gulf Arab states have for almost a month been consulting over an alternative to Trump’s ambition for an exodus of Palestinians and U.S. rebuild of Gaza, which they fear will destabilise the entire region.
Egypt’s idea is the frontrunner, diplomats and sources say.
It envisages a Governance Assistance Mission replacing Gaza’s Hamas-run government for an unspecified interim period, with responsibility for humanitarian aid and for starting reconstruction, according to a draft seen by Reuters.
Israel is unlikely to oppose an Arab entity taking responsibility for Gaza’s government if Hamas is off the scene, said a source familiar with the matter.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the group rejects any attempt to impose projects or any form of non-Palestinian administration, or the presence of any foreign forces on Gaza Strip territory.
“We are keen for the success of the summit, and we hope that there will be a call to reject the displacement and to protect the right of our people in resisting the occupation and govern itself away from any custodianship and intervention,” he added.
NO TO TRUMP PLAN
Egypt’s plan firmly rejects the U.S. proposal for mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, which Arab states such as Egypt and Jordan see as a security threat.
The Egyptian plan does not say who would pay to rebuild Gaza at a U.N.-estimated cost of more than $53 billion. Two sources told Reuters that Gulf and Arab states would need to commit at least $20 billion in the initial phase.
Any proposal will require heavy buy-in from oil-rich Gulf Arab states like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia who have the billions of dollars needed.
The UAE, which sees Hamas as an existential threat, wants an immediate and complete disarmament of the group while other Arab countries advocate a gradual approach, said another source close to the matter.
Hamas launched the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and started the Gaza war where more than 48,000 Palestinians have died, according to Gaza health authorities.
Since Hamas drove the Palestinian Authority out of Gaza after a brief civil war in 2007, it has crushed all opposition there. Supported by Iran, it built an extensive security apparatus and military organization around a vast network of tunnels, much of which Israel says it has now destroyed.
Egypt’s proposal envisions that states on a steering board could establish a fund to support the interim governing body and arrange donor conferences to seek contributions for longer-term reconstruction and development plan for Gaza.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Pesha Magid in Riyadh; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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