Egypt Develops Gaza's Redevelopment Plan Without Moving Palestinians

Palestinians were displaced by Israeli attacks. (Twitter/@UNLazzarini)

JAKARTA - Egypt is developing plans to rebuild the Gaza Strip without forcing Palestinians to move, in response to US President Donald Trump's proposal to permanently move the Palestinian enclave residents, by then mastering them to be rebuilt.

An Egyptian government-owned newspaper, Al-Ahram, said the proposal calls for the establishment of a "safe area" in Gaza, where Palestinians can stay temporarily when Egyptian and international construction companies move and rehabilitate the region's infrastructure.

Egyptian officials have discussed the plan with European diplomats as well as with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, according to two Egyptian and Arab and Western diplomats, quoted from the Associated Press February 18.

They also discussed ways to fund reconstruction, including an international conference on Gaza reconstruction, said one Egyptian official and an Arab diplomat.

Officials and diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal was still negotiated.

The essence of Egypt's proposal is the formation of a Palestinian government that is not in line with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority to carry out the path and oversee reconstruction efforts, according to two Egyptian officials involved in the effort.

Egypt's plan calls for a three-phase reconstruction process that will take up to five years without moving Palestinians from Gaza, Egyptian officials said.

The plan stipulates three "safe zones" in Gaza to relocate Palestinians during the first six months of "early recovery period". The zone will be equipped with cars and shelters, with humanitarian assistance flowing in.

More than two dozen Egyptian and international companies will take part in cleaning up debris and rebuilding the path infrastructure. The reconstruction will provide tens of thousands of jobs for Gazans, the official said.

The document also calls for the formation of a Palestinian police force consisting mostly of former Palestinian Authority police officers who remained in Gaza after Hamas took over the enclave in 2007, with reinforcements from troops trained by Egypt and the West.

When asked about the possible deployment of Arab troops in Gaza, an Egyptian official and Arab diplomat said Arab countries would only agree if there was a "clear path" for the formation of an independent Palestinian State.

PM Netanyahu himself has rejected any Palestinian state and any role for Western-backed Hamas or Palestinian Authority in ruling Gaza, although he has not proposed a clear alternative.

The proposal comes after international noise over President Trump's call to move about 2 million Palestinians from Gaza, to then rebuild them into "Central East Riviera".

Palestinians broadly insist they will not leave their homeland. Meanwhile, Egypt, Jordan, backed by Saudi Arabia, has rejected President Trump's call for them to accept Gazans.

Human rights groups have widely said that the plan is a forced eviction, which has the potential to become a war crime.

European countries have also largely criticized President Trump's plans.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the idea, saying Israel was preparing to implement it.

On Sunday, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou said the group had accepted the Palestinian unity government without the participation of Hamas or technocrat committees to run the region.

On the other hand, the Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank, has so far opposed any plans for Gaza to exclude it.