Egypt’s foreign minister has reaffirmed that his country’s plan to rebuild Gaza following 16 months of war is both feasible and does not require the displacement of its residents.
Badr Abdelatty made the remarks after meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, just days ahead of an Arab summit in Cairo where Egypt’s proposal will be formally presented.
The ongoing Israeli military campaign has left Gaza in devastation, prompting urgent calls for reconstruction.
“The only guarantee to break the cycle of violence and assaults is for a political horizon to be present and to give hope to the Palestinian people that their legitimate aspirations can be achieved — in establishing an independent state on all of their national soil,” said Abdelatty.
He emphasised that Egypt’s reconstruction plan is structured with clear, short-term goals that are “completely doable and achievable without the need to displace any citizens from their land.”
The Egyptian initiative comes in contrast to a proposal by former US President Donald Trump, who suggested the removal of Gaza’s entire two-million-strong Palestinian population and transforming the territory into a large-scale real estate project.
Trump stated that under his plan, the United States would assume control of Gaza and redevelop it into a “Riviera of the Middle East”, barring Palestinians from returning.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa described Egypt’s plan as a move towards establishing a unified Palestinian state, stressing the importance of integrating Gaza and the West Bank.
“We will work on uniting the organisations, whether services, administrative, or security in order to form one state with one system, one law, and also one weapon,” he said.
Mustafa added that he had discussed these objectives with Abdelatty and expressed optimism that, with the backing of other Arab nations, the summit would endorse the plan and help drive these efforts forward.
