US Doubles Down: Palestinians Need to Leave

The White House has swiftly rejected a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without the forced displacement of 2.1 million Palestinians. President Trump's plan for a US takeover of Gaza that would permanently remove residents sparked outrage and claims of ethnic cleansing last month, prompting Egypt to suggest an alternative. The $53 billion reconstruction plan offered Tuesday would see Gaza rebuilt with modern housing developments, a technology hub, a commercial harbor, an airport, community centers, and beach hotels in under six years, per Reuters and NBC News. Most important, the proposal would ensure Palestinians "stay on their land without displacement," said Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

Sissi said Egypt had worked with locals to create an administrative committee of independent Palestinian technocrats, who would manage Gaza's daily affairs and oversee the dispersal of aid until the Palestinian Authority, which exercises partial control over the Israeli-occupied West Bank, can step in, per Reuters. The plan endorsed by Arab leaders, Hamas, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the PA, also calls for some 1.5 million displaced Gazans to be moved into 200,000 prefabricated housing units and 60,000 repaired homes during the reconstruction period, per the BBC. The Arab League has said it will reject any displacement, forced or voluntary, the outlet notes.

But White House rep Brian Hughes claimed the plan "does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance," adding that Trump "stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas." Israel's Foreign Ministry also rejected the proposal, complaining Hamas would be left in power. "Now, with President Trump's idea, there is an opportunity for the Gazans to have free choice based on their free will. This should be encouraged!" it said, per the BBC. Though Hamas has agreed not to field candidates in committee elections, it wants to have oversight over the committee's agenda, per Reuters. (More Gaza stories.)