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Egypt’s plan for Gaza, a proposal discussed by Arab leaders at a summit in Cairo on Tuesday, outlines a five-year reconstruction process alongside a significant political transition in the governing of the Palestinian territory.
Here are the main takeaways of the draft plan seen by The National:
Phases of reconstruction
1. Immediate Response & Early Recovery (first six months)
- Debris removal and demining: Clearing unexploded ordnance and war debris to enable rebuilding efforts.
- Temporary housing: Establishment of seven temporary housing sites across Gaza to accommodate displaced people.
- Infrastructure repairs: Restoration of essential services like water, electricity, and transport networks.
- Emergency humanitarian aid: Provision of food, health care and emergency relief to the affected population.
2. First phase of reconstruction (two years, $20 billion)
- Housing restoration: Rehabilitation of 60,000 partially destroyed housing units.
- Permanent housing construction: Building 200,000 new housing units to accommodate 1.6 million people.
- Public services: Rebuilding hospitals, schools and essential infrastructure (water, sewerage, electricity).
- Agricultural and industrial recovery: Restoring 20,000 hectares of farmland and establishing key economic facilities.
3. Second phase of reconstruction (two and a half years, $30 billion)
- Expanding infrastructure: Continued construction of roads, public buildings and utilities.
- Finalising permanent housing: Bringing total completed units to 460,000 to house three million people.
- Economic development: Establishment of industrial zones, a fishing port, a commercial seaport and a new airport.
- Tourism and trade development: Enhancing regional economic integration through new trade agreements and tourism facilities.
Major political aspects
1. Political framework and governing
- Support for a two-state solution: The plan aligns with international law and aims to preserve the vision of an independent Palestinian state.
- Preserving Palestinian sovereignty: Ensuring reconstruction efforts lead to neither displacement nor loss of Palestinian land rights.
- Formation of a transitional governing committee: A temporary, technocratic body to oversee Gaza’s administration until the Palestinian Authority assumes full control.
2. Security and stability
- Maintaining the ceasefire: Co-ordination with Egypt, Qatar and the US to sustain the truce and prevent further conflict.
- Police and security force training: Egypt and Jordan will assist in training a professional Palestinian police force.
- International peacekeeping possibilities: Exploration of UN or multinational forces to maintain long-term stability.
3. International co-ordination and funding
- Establishing a reconstruction fund: A supervised international trust fund to ensure transparent and sustainable financing.
- Multilateral support: Engagement with donor countries, international organisations and development banks.
- Investment in Gaza’s economy: Encouraging private-sector involvement and foreign direct investment for long-term growth.
- International conference: Egypt will host a high-level ministerial conference in Cairo to mobilise global financial support.
4. Regional and diplomatic considerations
- Gaza with the West Bank: Avoiding any political or territorial separation that could undermine the future Palestinian state.
- Negotiations for long-term peace: Promotion of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks for a final peace agreement.
- Halting unilateral action: Calls for an end to Israeli settlement expansion and demolition in Palestinian territories.
The Transitional Governance Committee
1. Composition and leadership:
- Independent, non-partisan and technocratic, composed of Palestinian experts, administrators and professionals.
- Functions under the umbrella of the Palestinian government to ensure legitimacy.
- Egypt and international partners provide advisory and logistical support without direct interference.
2. Mandate and responsibilities:
- Managing reconstruction projects: Overseeing infrastructure rebuilding, housing programmes and economic recovery efforts.
- Ensuring public service delivery: Co-ordinating health care, education, electricity, water and sanitation services.
- Financial oversight: Managing the international reconstruction fund to ensure transparent allocation of aid.
- Security and law enforcement: Training and deploying a professional Palestinian security force with support from Egypt and Jordan.
3. Transition to the Palestinian Authority
- The committee will be temporary (six to 12 months) and gradually hand over control to the PA.
- The goal is institutional capacity-building to ensure the PA can govern effectively without factional divisions.
- A phased reintegration process will enable a smooth transition to full PA administrative and security control.
4. Preventing political fragmentation
- Preventing political or administrative isolation of Gaza from the occupied West Bank.
- Rejecting any separate governance models for Gaza, ensuring unity under a single Palestinian leadership.
