Arab nations outline multi-billion dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza

CAIRO, EGYPT: Leaders of Arab countries endorsed Egypt’s reconstruction plan for Gaza in a move to counter the controversial idea of US President Donald Trump. Arab leaders have rejected Trump’s proposal to relocate all the residents of war-ravaged Gaza to make way for the US to build what he’s called the “Riviera of the Middle East”. Hamas said it welcomes the Arab-endorsed reconstruction plan.

The proposal was endorsed at an extraordinary Arab League Summit held on Tuesday, with Jordan’s King Abdullah, Qatar’s Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres among those present in an ornate domed hall at the new administrative capital on the outskirts of Cairo, reported Bloomberg.

“This plan preserves the Palestinian people’s right to rebuild their homeland and ensures it remains on its land,” El-Sisi said in opening remarks, adding that Cairo would host a Gaza reconstruction conference next month.

He urged the fellow leaders to contribute to a special fund that will be created for Gaza and said parallel political and security tracks would be launched to support the rebuilding plan.

Gaza’s reconstruction: Saudi Arabia invites Gulf states, Egypt, Jordan for talks

The closing statement of the Arab Summit condemned Israel’s decision this month to suspend humanitarian aid to Gaza and warned against the displacement of Palestinian territories, a move described as a “clear threat to the foundations of peace in the Middle East.”

It also stressed the importance of implementing the phased ceasefire agreement, including withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip and the Philadelphi corridor near the border with Egypt.

For a transitional period, the statement welcomed a suggestion to form a committee under the Palestinian government to administer Gaza, and a proposal from Egypt and Jordan to train Palestinian police in the coastal enclave. It also calls on the UN Security Council to deploy peacekeeping forces in the strip and the West Bank.

Security of the enclave is another outstanding matter, they said , as well as the future of Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and a number of other nations.

A 90-page version of the Arab plan, dated March 2025 and titled “Gaza, Palestine: Early Recovery and Gaza Reconstruction and Development” – envisions multiple phases lasting between six months to five years at a total cost of $53.2 billion.

Initially, 1.5 million Palestinians would be housed in temporary units spread out over seven sites across the war-ravaged territory as the monumental task of removing nearly 50 million tonnes of rubble gets underway, said the document.

The day-to-day affairs of Gaza would be run by “an independent committee consisting of technocrats and non-partisans”. Palestinian figures “under the umbrella of the Palestinian government,” paving the way for the full return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza, according to the plan.

Egypt and Jordan would vet and train people to police Gaza with the possibility of deploying “an international defence/peacekeeping force with clear references” mandated by the UN Security Council, added the draft.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said the “Egyptian-Arab-Islamic” Gaza reconstruction plan would move on to a ministerial-level meeting in Saudi Arabia to iron out the details. That would include representatives of majority Muslim countries like Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Turkey and others.

But it will be a challenge to persuade many countries, particularly Western ones, to back the plan when it doesn’t explicitly address how Hamas can be removed and disarmed. It is a non-starter for Israel and most likely the US and the European Union.

Saudi Arabia supports removing Hamas’s hardline military and political leadership from Gaza but says it is necessary to deal with what it has described as moderate elements of the group. The United Arab Emirates has adopted a more uncompromising stance, and wants a complete overhaul of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority too before it commits any funds to reconstruction.

Another potential obstacle to the plan is the repeated statements by Gulf states that they won’t fund reconstruction in Gaza without a commitment and path to a Palestinian state, something Israel has rejected.