Palestinians continue their daily life with limited resources among the rubble of buildings destroyed as a result of Israeli attacks in Beit Lahiya, Gaza on February 21, 2025 [Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty]
A number of key differences have arisen between two visions for the future administration of Gaza and reconstruction efforts there – one put forward by Egypt and the other by the Palestinian Authority (PA), under its President Mahmoud Abbas.
Following US President Trump’s proposal last month that the US should take over Gaza and “clean out” the population, leaders across the Arab world, who roundly rejected the comments, have been working to respond by setting out counter proposals, on which intensive discussions are underway currently.
The PA’s proposal would see it take full responsibility for Gaza’s future administration as well as directly managing the funds allocated for reconstruction.
However, Cairo and other states that have offered to fund Gaza’s reconstruction have aired concerns around giving the PA direct control of the reconstruction funds, due to past accusations against the PA around a lack of financial transparency as well as fears the move could deepen political polarisation instead of paving the way for a genuine recovery inside the Strip.
Lamis Andoni, a leading expert on Jordanian-Palestinian affairs who launched The New Arab as its editor-in-chief, said one of the PA’s goals was to reassert its control over Gaza and “subvert American and Israeli efforts to remove the PA altogether” from a role in Gaza going forward.
She added that, crucially, the PA would also be seeking for Gaza to “be under Palestinian control – not under Arab or Israeli control”.
Meanwhile, she said, Egypt was keen to maintain a security role in the Gaza border area, and a role in reconstruction, adding that this was also “a money issue, because whoever takes part in the reconstruction deal will control part of the money”.
While the Egyptian and PA’s plans shouldn’t appear “mutually exclusive”, she said, “because Israel doesn’t want Palestinian control, they look mutually exclusive”.
However, she added that the “real story is what kind of arrangement of Gaza are Israel and America planning,” warning that “the real problem [of these negotiations] is that since they are excluding Hamas, this is deepening the rift among the Palestinians”.
Abbas’s vision on managing Gaza
Abbas’s vision centres on empowering the PA to assume the same roles and responsibilities in Gaza as those it undertakes in the occupied West Bank, in order to affirm Palestinian sovereignty and the unity of Palestinian land – geographically, politically, and legally.
According to his plan, Israel would withdraw from the Strip, and the PA would assume responsibility for all the crossings, which would be operated (in cooperation with Egypt and the EU) in accordance with the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access between Israel and the PA.
The PA has also drawn up reconstruction plans, through consultation with Cairo and international organisations, according to which Gaza’s population would remain in the Strip while reconstruction is underway.
The proposal is due to be presented at the emergency Arab summit scheduled on 4 March in Cairo for official approval.
The PA has also emphasised the need to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as a key entity providing humanitarian services inside Gaza.
Abbas rejects any formula for Gaza’s future administration where the PA isn’t the main body governing the territory – and he considers control of the reconstruction funds a key element of the PA being able to exert its sovereignty over Gaza at this stage.
However, aside from Cairo’s reservations on the issue of the funds, Egypt’s authorities believe the PA would require the human resources and an effective administrative apparatus to make a return to Gaza where it has been absent since 2007 and where Hamas is the ruling authority – and the absence of these makes its vision impractical.
Egypt’s vision for Gaza’s post-war administration
Therefore, Cairo is seeking discussion on an alternative proposal, in which Egypt would be primarily responsible for oversight of Gaza, with the involvement of international donors.
According to this vision, a technical committee under Egyptian oversight would be tasked with managing the reconstruction projects, under international supervision.
In Egypt’s proposal local staff would be selected for a new administrative apparatus to manage different sectors in Gaza.
Coordination with Israel would ensure these individuals were subjected to an in-depth security screening beforehand.
Cairo’s proposal would also see pressure put on Hamas to make concessions, such as relinquishing its weapons, as well has handing over the administration of Gaza’s land crossings to a neutral party.
However, the Palestinian factions (in particular Hamas) oppose the Egyptian proposal as it stands, which would exclude them from any political or military role.
This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition with additional reporting
