Egypt and Jordan have completely rejected Trump’s plans for Gaza [Getty/file photo]
A plan by Egypt advanced to challenge US President Donald Trump’s shock proposal to empty Gaza of its inhabitants could include establishing a Palestinian-led committee and bringing in foreign companies to rebuild the enclave.
Trump had suggested neighbouring countries like Egypt and Jordan could take in the Palestinians, something both Arab states have condemned and rejected.
Cairo had previously said that it had an alternative plan to help reconstruct the war-battered Gaza Strip and avoid displacing its population, in an attempt to push back against Trump’s scheme.
Egyptian sources told The New Arab’s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that a scheduled visit to Washington by Egyptian President Abdelfattah al-Sisi will be postponed until after a 27 February Arab League emergency summit focused on Trump’s plan.
The sources said Sisi prefers to meet his American counterpart once the Egyptian president has a full vision for Gaza that enjoys wide Arab support.
Despite still being shrouded in secrecy and speculation, sources revealed to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the Egyptian counterplan to Trump’s proposal was primarily based on the formation of a Palestinian committee under the supervision of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and without Hamas’ participation.
This committee will oversee the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which is estimated to cost tens of billions of dollars.
Egyptian and other companies would be contracted to carry out reconstruction projects and Arab or international forces could be deployed to secure the work of these firms, the sources say.
But sending foreign forces to Gaza remains a point of contention as some countries reject direct military involvement in the enclave and have said they are not willing to put boots on the ground there.
Reconstruction efforts may also be problematic as it may require dismantling some of the Palestinian armed groups’ infrastructure including their network of tunnels, the sources tell Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
Israel has already reportedly rejected the plan, and has said on several occasions that it does not want Palestinian governance in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Gaza – has welcomed Trump’s suggestion for the US to take over the Gaza Strip and move out its Palestinian inhabitants.
The widespread rejection of Trump’s proposal, which has been condemned as advocating ethnic cleansing, marked a rare show of Arab unity.
Despite Egypt and Jordan having diplomatic ties with Israel since 1979 and 1994 respectively, Cairo and Amman’s relations with Tel Aviv have worsened over the war in Gaza, even though Egypt was a key mediator in the Hamas-Israel ceasefire deal.
The 15-month war on Gaza killed over 61,000 people, according to a revised death toll by the Gaza health ministry.
The offensive displaced practically all the enclave’s 2.3 million inhabitants –  many of them multiple times – and left the territory in ruins, destroying essential infrastructure including hospitals and schools.
