Egypt Just Handed Netanyahu His Backside On A Plate!

Right, so we’ve finally got the details of the Egyptian led plan for the reconstruction of Gaza. It is detailed, it is thorough, it still raises a few questions, but compared to the Israel and Trump endorsed plan, it is orders of magnitude better, not that that was a very high bar to cross, when the alternative is forced displacement of the entire Gaza Strip to neighbouring countries who have not only refused that, but have now come up with and gained the backing of Arab leaders from across the Middle East.
Gaza has endured months of destruction and is now at the mercy of Israel once again as they cut off aid supplies and resume strikes, to all intents and purposes ending the ceasefire as they have because they’ve once again changed the rules and demand everyone else accept that or else. The world is tired at seeing Israel act with impunity, now a plan to restore Gaza is on the table, the small matter of putting Israel in their place and removing them from this equation, much as this plan also removes Hamas from it as well, must be approached. If the entire Middle East can now finally speak with one voice, backing this plan as something they want to see delivered, then how they choose to deal with Israel next, as they must, is critical.
Right, so it is hardly breaking news to anyone on the planet I shouldn’t think by this point that Gaza is in ruins and its population war weary and utterly traumatised by the death and destruction meted out on them and their loved ones, but there may be good news on the horizon in the aftermath of this catastrophe. Egypt as we know has been working on a plan to rebuild and they have now announced a very ambitious $53 billion plan to reconstruct Gaza and their proposal has garnered support from across Middle Eastern Arab nations in attendance in Cairo yesterday for this plan to finally be made public and the Palestinian Authority, massively criticised for their aiding and abetting Israeli atrocity in the West Bank were also in attendance and some intriguing news came from them too, which I’ll come onto in a moment.
The Israeli genocide of Gaza has of course resulted in unprecedented levels of destruction. Entire neighbourhoods have been reduced to rubble, critical infrastructure has been obliterated, and tens of thousands of civilians were killed or injured and many more than that have been forcibly displaced from their homes. War crimes every one of them. The international community, human rights organisations, we as ordinary observers have for months condemned Israel’s actions as disproportionate and genocidal, accusing it of targeting civilian populations and infrastructure because that is exactly what they have been doing. Homes, schools, hospitals, everything levelled because it is Hamas, or a Hamas base, no matter how ridiculous and illegal the act. Israel will justify anything it does without restraint. The devastation has left what is left Gaza’s original 2.3 million inhabitants in dire need of humanitarian assistance and long-term reconstruction.
Amid this crisis of course, the pumpkin complexioned crackpot that passes for the President of the United States, Donald Trump, proposed a plan for Gaza that was basically a blueprint for ethnic cleansing. Trump’s “Gaza Riviera” proposal, envisioned the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan to make way for luxury resorts and economic projects in his own visage, an AI video clip he shared reinforcing what he would like to do there, a real estate venture for the wealthy without the people that land actually belongs to. He is a deranged thug and bully, who figures he can do what he likes and with Israel the only nation backing his plan, equally deranged as that government is, they stand alone and now stand against a much more popular, just and viable solution.
Where Trump’s plan was met with outrage from Palestinians and the broader Arab world, who saw it for what it is - an attempt to erase Palestinian identity and rights, to erase the Palestinian people full stop in effect, in this context, Egypt’s alternative plan has emerged as a counterproposal, aiming to address the immediate needs of Gaza’s population while rejecting forced displacement.
Egypt’s $53 billion plan for Gaza’s reconstruction is both ambitious and complex. It includes provisions for rebuilding infrastructure, restoring essential services, and establishing a transitional governance framework. Egypt’s plan can be completed end to end they believe, in just 5 years though.
So what is the plan then Damo? Well let’s work through it a bit at a time.
Firstly seven sites have been designated to house the people of Gaza during the reconstruction process, which together will house 1.5 million people, which does say a lot, given how many people were living there are now estimated to still be living if those are the numbers Egypt are working on. Three of these sites will be in what is left of Gaza City, one site will be in North Gaza, one in Rafah, one in Khan Younis and one in Deir al-Balah.
Next will come an early recovery phase. This will take around 6 months and will cost an estimated $3bn. This includes rubble removal, the installation of 200,000 temporary housing units, the clearance of the central Salah al-Din road to establish it as a reconstruction corridor, and initiating repairs on housing the can be saved, an estimated 60,000 units as this is.
Following this initial phase, phase one of the reconstruction will begin. A time frame of 2 years and a total of $20bn to be spent here, this phase includes the completion of all rubbish removal from coastal collection sites, the full restoration of those 60,000 estimated salvageable housing units, 200,000 new homes built to permanently house some 1.6m people, the rehabilitation of some 20,000 acres of agricultural land, the development and implementation of permanent infrastructure consisting of electricity, telecommunications and service buildings. Further to this water supplies will be restored along with fire fighting services and sanitation, comprising of 2 desalination plants, 2 drinking and firefighting water reservoirs, 2 irrigation reservoirs and 2 wastewater treatment plants.
The final phase, to take 2.5 years and costing $30bn will see the continuation of infrastructure and service facilities, the construction of another 200,000 homes, up to 460,000 which is enough to house some 3m people, sufficient for Gaza going into the future. There will begin the development of a 600 acre industrial zone, and further to that a fishing port will be built, along with a commercial seaport and an international airport, a Gaza fit for the future.
As always when you’re talking about big money though, the question inevitably is where is it coming from? The $53 billion required for the plan is expected to be funded through a combination of contributions from Arab states, international donors, and multilateral institutions, investment funds, development agencies and development banks. According to Reuters, several Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, may pledge financial support, especially since Hamas are sidelined, which is a big issue for the UAE. The United Nations is also expected to play a key role in coordinating international aid and overseeing the implementation of the plan, it would be good if we saw a peacekeeping force finally deployed to oversee this.
Speaking of oversight though, the implementation process will be overseen by a joint committee comprising representatives from Egypt, the PA, and other Arab states. This committee will be responsible for coordinating reconstruction efforts, managing funds, and ensuring transparency and accountability.
Among the attendees supporting this plan were Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and representatives from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar.
The Palestinian Authority’s presence might be alarming to some, especially given how pro Israel they have been in the West bank, they are Israel’s loyal patsies for the most part, but they have a key role here in Egypt’s plans as an interim authority in Gaza. In what could be a sign of a much needed shift in Palestinian leadership, squatting PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who has been dodging elections since 2006 has now stated he is prepared to hold them within a year of taking interim governance of Gaza, at 89 years of age, Abbas might now be feeling it perhaps, Hamas standing aside and they are prepared to do so it seems, having expressed support for Egypt’s plans as well. It is a great vision for Gaza and the aspect of forced displacement is very much off the table.
The United Nations as I touched on briefly a moment ago is expected to play an important role here as well. In addition to coordinating international aid getting in as reconstruction gets under way, the UN will likely be involved in overseeing the transitional governance arrangements with the PA and ensuring that the reconstruction process adheres to international humanitarian standards. UN involvement also adds a layer of legitimacy to the plan and provides a mechanism for addressing any disputes or challenges that may arise and you would hope the spectre of a US veto wouldn’t be an issue either, everyone has had enough of those.
While the Egyptian plan offers a comprehensive framework for Gaza’s reconstruction, there are some obvious challenges to it. The US and Israel don’t like it, hard cheese is my immediate thought on that, but I’m going to come onto the issues they’ve posed in my next video so look out for that later.
One of the most significant hurdles I am going to cover herethough is the question of governance. The sidelining of Hamas, while welcomed by some, and hamas are going along with it it seems, it also raises concerns about the long-term stability of the transitional government knowing what the Palestinian Authority have been like, especially most recently in the West Bank. Will they revert to pro Israeli influences or will oversight of them be sufficient? It’s a question I’d like to see a lot more detail over.
Another challenge is the issue of security. The deployment of an international peacekeeping force led by the UN would be a positive step, but ensuring the safety of aid workers and preventing renewed conflict with Israel will require sustained commitment from the international community and actually holding Israel to account for any atrocity being carried out to stmie or prevent the reconstruction process must be dealt with. There can be no more excusing of Israel, yet it is difficult to see how that would be possible, if the US continues to block censure as they have done for so long.
Thre are a lot of challenges to overcome here, yet the Egyptian plan still represents a significant opportunity to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and lay the groundwork for a more stable and prosperous future for the people who Gaza belongs to. By rejecting forced displacement and prioritising the needs of Gaza’s population, the plan offers a stark contrast to Trump’s ethnic cleansing proposal and reaffirms the commitment of neighbouring Arab states, some of which has been questionable, to Palestinian rights. It is the only plan worth pursuing that is on the table. It is for the rest of the world now to get behind.
Meanwhile, holding Israel to account might just have moved another step along as a significant shift at the International Court of Justice is being seen as rather bad news for Netanyahu and his genocidal government, aww, what a pity! Get all the details of that move in this video recommendation here as your suggested next watch. Please do also hit like, share and subscribe to the channel as well before you do, so as to ensure you don’t miss out on all new daily content, but also help support the work I do here at the same time, holding power to account for ordinary working class people, which is very much appreciated and I will hopefully catch you on the next vid. Cheers folks.