Brussels – On the one hand, Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, indigestible to all but Israel, and on the other, the proposal by Egypt, endorsed by the UN and EU summits. From the Arab League summit in Cairo comes a strong signal in the direction of Washington and Tel Aviv: As European Council President António Costa said, there is no room for any “attempt at demographic or territorial change” in Gaza.
A month after the shock idea of “turning Gaza into the Riviera of the Middle East,” Arab countries in the region are responding to Trump’s provocation. Egyptian President al-Sisi unveiled a plan for the future of the Strip, which includes the establishment of an administrative committee “composed of independent Palestinian experts and technocrats,” responsible for overseeing aid and administration in Gaza “with a view to the return of the Palestinian Authority.”
The draft plan, according to Reuters, calls for a six-month interim administration, described as a step toward the Palestinian Authority’s full resumption of control of Gaza. Egypt and Jordan would be in charge of training the Palestinian security forces. Also mentioned in the plan, however, would be the possibility of deploying an international peacekeeping force in Gaza and the West Bank, to be obtained through a U.N. Security Council resolution (and thus with the green light from the United States).
No more Hamas, but no forced displacement of the Gazawi population. At the summit, Palestinian President Abu Mazen said he was ready to call new elections by next year. However, to rebuild a territory that is reduced to rubble, some 53 billion will be needed, according to the UN. In the Egyptian plan, reconstruction would take five years. After a first phase focused on clearing rubble, clearing unexploded ordnance, and providing temporary housing, it would provide for the creation of an internationally supervised fund to finance with a budget of $20 billion through 2027 to rebuild essential infrastructure, including roads, distribution networks, and utilities facilities. In the last phase—until 2030 and at an estimated cost of $30 billion—infrastructure projects and the creation of industrial zones, a fishing port, a commercial port and an airport would be built in Gaza.
Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the UN, espoused the plan presented by President al-Sisi and assured that the UN is “ready to cooperate fully in this effort.” So did the President of the European Council, António Costa, who thanked Egypt and Arab countries and offered “concrete support” from the 27 member countries. “We should implement this plan together, the European Union, its partners in the Arab world and the international community,” he said.
The EU leader sent a message to the new U.S. administration and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu: “Let me be clear. The European Union firmly rejects any attempt at demographic or territorial change. In Gaza and other parts of the world. Everywhere.” In a moment of stalled negotiations for the continuation of the ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave, Costa reiterated the importance of successful talks for the start of the second phase, which Israel and the United States have proposed to postpone. The EU leader also said that the EU would already be “using all possible tools” to support the Palestinian Authority’s crucial role in Gaza’s future, “including diplomatic efforts vis-à-vis Israel and Palestine.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
