Egypt has apparently released the initial details of a proposal Cairo has put together to rebuild the Gaza Strip within three to five years, though there’s no mention of a plan to work with the Trump administration or Israel.
According to a reporter for i24 News, Egyptian sources told Qatari Al Araby TV the plan is a move to counter the proposal first put forward by President Donald Trump last week suggesting the U.S. would ‘take over’ Gaza and forcibly displace all Palestinians living there.
The Egyptian proposal for reconstruction will reportedly be carried out in cooperation among Arab countries, the European Union and the United Nations.
Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the White House, U.N., Qatari or Egyptian officials to confirm details of the plan.
Sources within the European Union confirmed that while they were aware a plan would be released later this month at a summit with fellow Arab nations, they were not aware of the EU’s or the U.N.’s involvement in the reconstruction plans.
More details of the proposal will reportedly lay out a two-phase project that will first focus on rubble removal and residential building construction.
Details of the plan were reported less than 24 hours after the Egyptian foreign ministry released a statement saying it has ‘aspirations’ to ‘cooperate’ with President Donald Trump and the U.S., but that it also condemned Trump’s proposal to take over the Gaza Strip.
In addition, the ministry said the only way to achieve regional peace was to address the ‘root cause of conflict’ by ending ‘Israel’s occupation’ and implementing a two-state solution, a proposal that would look vastly different from what Trump has said he plans to do.
While speaking alongside Jordan’s King Abdullah in the Oval Office Tuesday, Trump reaffirmed his plans to take over the Gaza Strip, telling reporters, ‘We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it. We’re going to cherish it.’
Though both Jordan and Egypt have pushed back on Trump’s plan to ‘take over’ Gaza, Richard Goldberg, senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former National Security Council official during the first Trump administration, pointed out that the president’s comments got them moving to take action.
Abdullah on Tuesday announced he will accept up to 2,000 children from Gaza who have cancer or require other medical treatment. Neither Jordan nor Egypt had previously agreed to accept Gazans after the war that ensured Gaza in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
‘These governments are most certainly scrambling to respond to a president who outlined a pretty clear vision and a determination to make it happen,’ Goldberg told Fox News Digital. ‘I’d expect their first round of responses to be wholly unserious, hoping they can put lipstick on a pig and make Trump go away.
‘But this president doesn’t fall for those old tricks.’
Trump has claimed there is potential to turn the Gaza Strip into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ and on Tuesday said it could be a ‘diamond.’
But King Abdullah would not directly answer reporters’ questions on his position regarding the U.S. takeover.
‘I think the point is, how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody?’ Abdullah wondered. ‘Obviously, we have to look at the best interests of the United States, of the people in the region, especially to my people of Jordan.
‘We will be in Saudi Arabia to discuss how we can work with the president and with the United States. So, I think let’s wait until the Egyptians can come and present it to the president and not get ahead of ourselves.’
Later Tuesday, Abdullah confirmed Jordan’s position on X. And while he thanked the president for a ‘warm welcome’ and ‘constructive meeting,’ he said, ‘I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position.
‘Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,’ he added, echoing a statement released by Egypt’s foreign ministry. ‘Achieving just peace on the basis of the two-state solution is the way to ensure regional stability.’