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A plan for Gaza formulated by Egypt would exclude Hamas from governance of the enclave once the war ends, a draft of the plan obtained by CNN shows.
The plan is being discussed by Arab leaders meeting in Cairo in an emergency summit on Tuesday, with Egypt’s president proposing a Palestinian committee to temporarily govern Gaza – taking over from Hamas and eventually handing power to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
“With the help of its Palestinian brothers, Egypt has worked to create a Palestinian administrative committee of independent professionals and technocrats, who will be tasked with governing Gaza with the expertise of its members,” President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said at the summit.
The committee will be responsible for overseeing the relief process and governing the strip’s issues for a “temporary period” in preparation for the return of the PA to Gaza, Sisi said.
The plan will be presented to US President Donald Trump in the coming weeks, Jordanian official sources told CNN earlier.
Egypt is proposing the formation of an independent, technocratic Palestinian committee to rule Gaza for an interim 6-month period “under the umbrella of” the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA), whose members would have no affiliations to Palestinian factions, the document said.
Branded “Gaza 2030” and bearing an Egyptian presidential logo, the 91-page document proposes that Egypt and Jordan train Palestinian police forces for deployment to secure the strip.
CNN could not confirm the authenticity of the document and has reached out to Egyptian authorities for comment.
The proposal was formulated as a response to Trump’s plan to take ownership of Gaza, expel its residents to neighboring countries and turn it into a Middle Eastern “riviera.”
The plan rejects displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and calls on the international community to address the “humanitarian catastrophe” created by the war in enclave.
The postwar plan, the document said, requires arrangements for transitional governance “in a way that preserves the two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and “prevents the outbreak of new conflicts.”
Speaking at the summit in Cairo, Egypt’s president said he has faith that Trump is capable of adopting “serious and effective” solutions to the war in Gaza.
“The time has come to adopt a serious and effective political pathway that leads to a fair and lasting solution for the Palestinian cause, in accordance to the resolutions of international legitimacy,” Sisi said. “I have faith that President Trump is capable of doing this.”
The document lays out an ambitious plan to develop shopping malls, an international convention center and even an airport within five years. It also aims to attract tourists by building resorts and enhancing the enclave’s Mediterranean coast.
Egypt estimates Gaza’s reconstruction costs at $53 billion. Of that, $3 billion would be allocated for rubble removal, clearing unexploded munitions, and constructing temporary housing. An additional $20 billion would fund the first two years of reconstruction, focusing on utilities and permanent housing. The remaining $30 billion would go toward developing a seaport, airport, and industrial zones.
The proposal also calls on the United Nations Security Council to consider deploying international peacekeepers in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank to protect both Palestinians and Israelis.
It acknowledges the difficulties that could be faced in disarming militants in the strip.
“It is something that can be dealt with, and even ended forever, only if its causes are removed through a clear horizon and a credible political process,” it says.
On Tuesday, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the group’s arms were non-negotiable.
“The weapon of the resistance is a red line, and it is not negotiable,” he said. “We will not accept (any deal) to trade it for reconstruction or the entry of aid.”
Hamas has sent mixed signals about its future in Gaza in recent weeks. Analysts have said that while the group has shown that it is willing to discuss demilitarization as an end goal of a peace process, it is keen not to allow it to become a prerequisite of the process.
Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, said last month that the group will not disarm and may even grow after the war in Gaza.
On Wednesday last week, Hamas official Husam Badran said that the group was willing to step aside from governing Gaza. “Our only condition is for this to be an internal Palestinian matter – we will not allow any regional or international party to get involved,” he told Al Arabiya. “As long as there is national consensus, Hamas will not be involved in the governance.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still refuses to say what he envisions for Gaza’s post-war future, except to say that he endorses Trump’s plan for “a different Gaza.” And he thinks neither the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority nor Hamas should govern Gaza.
It is unclear whether Trump intends to carry through on his expulsion plan. After receiving forceful pushback from Egyptian and Jordanian leaders, Trump told Fox News last month: “The way to do it is my plan. I think that’s the plan that really works. But I’m not forcing it. I’m just going to sit back and recommend it.”
The plan also comes as a delicate truce between Israel and Hamas hangs by a thread after Israel blocked humanitarian aid into Gaza, in response to Hamas rejecting a new Israeli proposal to extend the ceasefire without any commitment to end the war or fully withdraw troops.
Hamas has accused Israel of violating the agreement, calling its decision to halt humanitarian aid “cheap blackmail” and a “war crime.”
The summit comes as talks to extend the Gaza ceasefire have entered “a crucial 48 to 72 hours,” an Israeli official told CNN on Tuesday. If Hamas does not accede to Israel’s conditions, “then yes it’s on the table that they can go back to war,” the official said of the military.
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