Politics

Egypt treads fine line as it pushes for alternative Gaza plan

Cairo hopes an upcoming Arab summit can come up with a different proposal to counter Trump’s plan to turn Gaza into the 'Riviera of the Middle East', but this push comes with great political risk

Anna Moneymaker / AFP

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attempt to shake hands during a photo opportunity ahead of a meeting in the US State Department Building on February 10, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Egypt treads fine line as it pushes for alternative Gaza plan

Amr Emam

last update on 19 Feb 2025

Details continue to emerge about Egypt’s proposal for the reconstruction of Gaza, which offers an alternative to President Donald Trump’s plan for the US to take ownership of the Strip. Cairo’s proposal would not entail displacing Gaza's 2.2 million Palestinian population, whereas, under Trump's, they would be removed to create a "new Riviera of the Middle East" with no right to return. This would be music to Israel's ears.

Egypt's plan comes with an important and rather obvious message: Palestinians don't need to be moved off their land in order for rebuilding to occur. It also underscores its firm and repeated position that Egypt will not take in any Palestinians.

Firstly, the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees into the Sinai could destabilise its own security and jeopardise its own peace treaty with Israel, and second, it doesn't want to legitimise the forced displacement of the Palestinian people. Instead, Egypt believes Palestinians deserve to have a state of their own on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital—a position that enjoys widespread global support.

Leaked details

According to recently leaked information from Egyptian sources revealed in Arab media outlets in the past days, Cairo's plan for reconstruction of Gaza would take only five years. Around 24 local and international construction companies would team up with 18 regional and global consulting firms to execute the plan.

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi hopes to rally Arab support for his Gaza plan at an upcoming summit in Cairo to strengthen his hand in his talks with Trump

Meanwhile, several safe and habitable spaces would be set up as quickly as six months, where Palestinians would be able to live in trailers until their new homes are rebuilt. There, they would have access to water and electricity at the very least.

In the subsequent 18 months, millions of tonnes of rubble would be removed—starting from the southern part of Gaza before moving up into central and northern Gaza. Afterwards, permanent rebuilding would start and be completed in three years.

Trump doubles down on plan

Despite widespread international condemnation of Trump's plan, the US president has doubled down on his intention to take over Gaza, mentioning it several times during briefings with reporters. But details remain murky. No mentions have been made of how Trump intends to fund his plan, which will surely need billions of dollars as Israel has reduced most of Gaza to rubble or what the US president has described as a "demolition site".

As for Hamas, Trump and His Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, have both repeatedly spoken out against allowing the group to continue to rule Gaza and European officials have said they would not fund any reconstruction while Hamas remains a dominant force there.

But 16 months after the war, the Islamist group appears to still be in control of Gaza. In televised hostage release ceremonies, the group appears highly organised and well-equipped, which could deter potential financiers of Egypt's Gaza reconstruction plan and offer Israel an excuse to return back to full-scale war.

While Egypt's push to counter Trump's Gaza plan comes with political risk, failure to come up with an alternative proposal could spell disaster for the Palestinians and the region at large

For its part, Hamas has said it is willing to step down from governing but insists on remaining among the Palestinian political parties at the table and will not consent to being disarmed. This could be a sticking point as Egypt tries to come up with a plan that satisfies all regional and international stakeholders while also protecting Palestinians' right to stay on their land.

Treading fine line

Egypt is now treading a fine line between standing by its principles and also not antagonising Trump. This could be why Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi postponed a visit to Washington in mid-February until after the emergency Arab summit, which is set to take place in Cairo on 27 February.

There, el-Sisi hopes to rally Arab support for his Gaza reconstruction plan to strengthen his hand in his talks with Trump. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman is expected to attend the summit, adding much weight to any decision that may reached in Cairo.

And while Egypt's push to counter Trump's 'Gaza Riviera' plan comes with political risk, failure to come up with an alternative proposal could spell disaster for the Palestinians and the region at large.

+ / -