Arab plan for Gaza may include $20bn for reconstruction, sources say

Cairo/Riyadh — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to travel to Riyadh on Thursday, two Egyptian security sources said, where he is due to discuss an Arab plan for Gaza that may include as much as $20bn from the region for reconstruction.

Arab states are expected to discuss a post-war plan for Gaza to counter US President Donald Trump’s proposal to redevelop the strip under American control and displace Palestinians, a prospect that has angered regional leaders.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar are set to review and discuss the Arab plan in the Saudi capital before it is presented at a scheduled Arab summit which takes place in Cairo on March 4, four sources with knowledge of the matter said.

On Friday, a gathering of Arab state leaders, including Jordan, Egypt, the UAE and Qatar, was expected in Saudi Arabia, which is heading Arab efforts on Trump’s plan, though some sources said the date had not been confirmed yet.

Arab states were dismayed by Trump’s plan to “clean out” Palestinians from Gaza and resettle most of them in Jordan and Egypt, to create a Middle East riviera. The idea was immediately rejected by Cairo and Amman and seen in most of the region as deeply destabilising.

The Arab proposal, mostly based on an Egyptian plan, involves forming a national Palestinian committee to govern Gaza without Hamas involvement and international participation in reconstruction without displacing Palestinians abroad.

A $20bn contribution from Arab and Gulf states towards the fund, cited by two sources as being a likely figure, may be a good incentive for Trump to accept the plan, Emirati academic Abdulkhaleq Abdullah said.

“Trump is transactional so $20bn would resonate well with him,” Abdullah said. “This would benefit a lot of US and Israeli companies,” he added.

The Palestinian Authority’s cabinet said in a statement on Tuesday the first phase of the plan under discussion would cost about $20bn over three years.

Egyptian sources said discussions are still under way as to the size of the financial contribution by the region.

The plan sees reconstruction taking place over a three years, sources said.

“My conversations with Arab leaders, most recently King Abdullah, have convinced me they have a really realistic appraisal of what their role should be,” Senator Richard Blumenthal said in Tel Aviv during a visit to Israel on Monday.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar said Israel was waiting to evaluate the plan as it comes together but warned that any plan in which Hamas continued to have presence in Gaza was not acceptable.

“When we hear it we will know how to address it,” he said.

• More than $50bn will be required to rebuild Gaza after the 15-month Israel-Hamas conflict in the Palestinian enclave, according to an assessment released by the UN, the EU and the World Bank on Tuesday.

The Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment said that $53.2bn is needed for recovery and reconstruction over the next 10 years, with $20bn needed in the first three.

Reuters