Egypt rejects Israel’s ‘unacceptable’ proposal to run Gaza
Egypt has rejected a proposal made by Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid that Cairo, instead of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, temporarily run the Gaza Strip, dismissing such plans as "unacceptable."
"Any notions or proposals that circumvent the constants of the Egyptian and Arab stance (on Gaza)... are rejected and unacceptable," Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Tamim Khalaf was quoted by the state news agency MENA as saying on Wednesday.
The spokesman reiterated Egypt’s call for the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Palestinian territories, and its support for the establishment of “an independent Palestinian state.”
Khalaf stressed the “organic connection” between Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds, saying they represent “the territory of the independent Palestinian state and must be subject to full Palestinian sovereignty and administration.”
On Tuesday, Israel’s Yair Lapid unveiled a plan for Gaza after the war ends. Under his scheme, Egypt would take control of the strip once the current ceasefire deal is completed, in exchange for massive debt relief.
“The solution is Egypt will take responsibility for the management of the Gaza Strip for eight years with an option to extend to 15 years,” he told the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) think tank in Washington.
“At the same time, its foreign external debt will be paid off by the international community and regional allies,” Lapid, a former Israeli prime minister, added.
His scheme came after US President Donald Trump’s controversial plan to “take over” Gaza and displace Palestinians from the war-devastated strip to neighboring countries was rejected by Egypt.
During the early days of his administration, Trump suggested that the people of Gaza either temporarily or permanently relocate out of the strip, including to Egypt and Jordan.
On February 4, Trump proposed that the US could take over Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera” of West Asia after clearing the Palestinians out, and resettling them elsewhere.
Trump’s remarks sparked widespread condemnations, including from Palestine, the UN and the Arab world, as a potentially fatal blow to the so-called two-state solution.
Trump’s provocative proposal came after the Israeli regime failed to realize its objectives in the war on the coastal strip for over 15 months, during which the regime killed at least 48,348 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
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