On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, Arab leaders met in Cairo, Egypt to show a united front as they endorsed Egypt’s postwar plan for the Gaza Strip. The catalyst for the Egyptian proposal was the announcement of President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 4, 2025. Trump’s plan sent shockwaves through the Middle East and the world when he announced that, under his plan, approximately 2 million Arab Muslims living in Gaza would be removed from the Gaza Strip, relocated to neighboring countries like Egypt and Jordan, so that the war-torn strip could be cleared of unexploded ordnance and the rubble from Israel’s war against Hamas and turned into the “Riviera” of the Middle East (The Jerusalem Post).
Prime Minister Netanyahu appeared to warmly welcome Trump’s plan, calling it “visionary and innovative” (JNS). The same cannot be said for the rest of the world, especially the nations of the Middle East. Jordan’s King Abdullah rejected Trump’s suggestion for resettling the Palestinians in Jordan during his meeting with President Trump at the White House (Reuters). Egyptian President Adbel Fattah el-Sissi was scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House shortly thereafter, but, according to reports, he canceled his meeting after Trump’s announcement and called an emergency meeting of the Arab nations instead. A month later, the Arab nations have put forth a $53 billion postwar counterproposal to Trump’s plan for Gaza.
According to the Associated Press, “Egypt’s plan foresees rebuilding Gaza by 2030 without removing it population.” During phase one, unexploded ordnance and more than 50 million tons of debris will be removed from Gaza while an international peacekeeping force keeps a watchful eye on Gaza and Judea and Samaria (“West Bank”). Here are some of the key details from the 112-page draft of the plan:
- Hundreds of thousands of temporary housing units would be set up for Gaza’s population while reconstruction takes place. This phase will take six-month and cost approximately $3 billion (JNS).
- In the following years, the strip will be reshaped and expanded to include housing, urban areas, agricultural lands, industrial zones, large park areas, an airport, a fishing port, and a commercial port.
- By 2030, the plan envisions the construction of hundreds of thousands of new homes to accommodate up to 3 million people.
- Hamas would cede power to an interim administration of political independents until a reformed Palestinian Authority can assume control (Associated Press).
President el-Sissi was pleased by the “consensus among the Arab countries to support the reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip, which allows the Palestinian People to stay on their land without displacement.” He added in a social media post after the summit that he welcomed the opportunity to work with President Trump, other Arab nations and the international community “to adopt a plan that aims for a comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian Issue; ends the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, guarantees the security and stability of the peoples of the region and establishes a Palestinian State” (Associated Press).
Palestinian Authority (P.A.) President Mahmoud Abbas attended the summit and welcomed the notion that the Palestinian Authority will once again impose its will over Gaza. In similar fashion, Hamas expressed its support for the Egyptian plan, stating, “We welcome the Gaza reconstruction plan adopted in the summit’s final statement and call for ensuring all necessary resources for its success.” The Iranian-backed terrorist group also voiced support for the creation of a “Community Support Committee” to oversee “relief efforts, reconstruction and governance in Gaza, as outlined in the temporary administrative body proposed by the Arab League summit in Cairo” (JNS).
The United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres backed Egypt’s plan, stating, “I strongly endorse this plan. The U.N. stands ready to fully cooperate in this endeavor” (JNS).
Antonio Costa, European Union Council President, also supports the plan and posted on X, “I welcome the plan on Gaza presented by Egypt and other Arab partners at the League of Arab States’ Summit in Cairo. It is important that it covers all strands— reconstruction, governance and security. The European Union is fully committed to contributing to peace in the Middle East and is ready to provide concrete support for the plan. The whole international community should work on its implementation” (X).
Question: If so many are in favor of Egypt’s plan, then what’s wrong with it? What’s missing?
First, as Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry, rightly observes, Egypt’s plan “fails to address the realities of the situation” (Associated Press). To begin with, Marmorstein notes that the plan fails to mention or condemn Hamas’ attack Israel on October 7, 2023. This was not an oversight, it was intentional.
President el-Sisi and the Arab nations do not want to stir up a terrorist hornet’s nest by publicly blaming Hamas. Rather, Egypt and the other Arab states habitually redirect blame towards Israel by design because they believe Israel’s existence is the “root cause of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” President el-Sisi’s social media post confirms it is so. To end the “root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” means the state of Israel must be removed from the face of the earth. For the Palestinians (and the rest of the Muslim world), there would not be a Palestinian conflict if Israel ceased to exist. They do not want a two-state solution. They want a one-state solution, a world without Israel and her people.
Second, Egypt’s plan does not remove Hamas from Gaza. It is important to observe that while the Egyptian plan states that Hamas will cede its power from Gaza, it does not declare that Hamas must surrender its weapons and leave Gaza. Why? Simply put, because Hamas will not leave or put down their weapons peacefully. Hamas wants to remain in Gaza so that it will have time to rebuild and eventually assume control over Gaza once again. So, while the Arab nations pour billions of dollars into Gaza, Hamas will be recruiting members to fill its ranks. It will also use the new airport and the new fishing and commercial ports to obtain more weapons. Then when everyone is saying “Peace, Peace!” Hamas will attack Israel in a manner that is far worse than October 7, 2023.
Israel understands this is so and that is why the defeat of Hamas is one of its three primary objectives for its war against Hamas. The two other objectives include the rescue of all hostages, living and dead, and the removal of all existential threats from Israel’s borders.
Third, the Palestinian Authority cannot be “reformed” and trusted to govern Gaza. Again, it is important to understand “the realities of the situation” when it comes to Mahmoud Abbas and his band of Palestinian Authority terrorists. JNS recently quoted Abbas, reporting. . .
The Palestinian Authority will not deduct a single penny from its “pay-for-slay” fund that rewards terrorists and their families for their attacks, P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas told members of his ruling Fatah faction last week, according to translated remarks Palestinian Media Watch published on Thursday.
“We again emphasize that we are proud of the sacrifices made by the martyrs, prisoners and wounded [terrorists],” the P.A. leader said at the Feb. 21 gathering of the Revolutionary Council—Fatah’s second-highest body, which is chaired by Abbas—in Ramallah, Samaria.
“I told you once and I stand by my word: Even if we have [only] one penny left, it is for the prisoners and the martyrs,” he continued, echoing previous remarks made during a July 23, 2018, address in the Palestinian city.
The P.A. “will not agree to reduce any obligation, any interest, or any penny given to them,” Abbas said. He concluded, “They must receive everything, as in the past, and they are more precious than all of us.”
“Even if we have one penny left, it is for the prisoners… They must receive everything, as it was in the past, and they are more precious than all of us!”
~Abbas, Feb. 21, 2025 pic.twitter.com/A2VJ1n7qnI
— Pal Media Watch (@palwatch) February 23, 2025
Again, Israel understands “the realities of the situation” and that is why Israel has repeatedly said it will not permit the Palestinian Authority to regain control over Gaza.
Now, some might say, “But there will be international peacekeepers in Gaza, so Hamas and the Palestinian Authority will not be able to rebuild and attack Israel ever again.”
Question: Why will peacekeepers work this time when U.N. workers did not prevent the October 7th attack? In fact, workers from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (U.N.R.W.A.) were complicit in Hamas’ October 7th attack on Israel (Fox News). Therefore, Israel must exercise great care and wisdom and never entrust its security to an international peacekeeping force.
Question: So what is missing from Egypt’s postwar plan for Gaza?
Answer: An honest acknowledgment about “the realities of the situation” in Gaza.
Please join me in praying for Israel and her people during these critical times.
By Dr. Matthew Dodd | March 7, 2025
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