People carrying some personal items walk along a devastated street as they leave the Nur Shams camp for Palestinian refugees, where Israeli forces allowed residents to retrieve belongings after issuing reported demolition notifications for several houses. AFP
Amid rapid geopolitical developments, Cairo has once again affirmed its unwavering commitment to supporting Gaza and the rights of the Palestinian people. Egypt’s stance was demonstrated clearly in its absolute rejection of recent Israeli and American proposals entailing the expulsion of Palestinians, epitomised by US President Donald Trump’s vision for Gaza.
In addition, some Israeli officials have called for Egypt to take over the administration of the enclave.
On 4 March, Egypt hosted an emergency Arab summit as part of its intensive diplomatic efforts to forge a unified Arab position on Gaza’s future, with an emphasis on the need to preserve the independence of Palestinian will and decision-making, free from external dictates.
Pressures have mounted on Egypt to consent to unacceptable proposals, often based on ideas emanating from Israeli political and security circles. An example of such a proposal is the public call by some officials in the Israeli Defence Ministry and Security Cabinet for an expanded Egyptian role in Gaza, including administering and controlling the security of this occupied Palestinian territory
Although the Israeli government has not formally adopted this idea as an official plan or policy, members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have indicated that Israel wants to reduce its responsibility for Gaza by offloading some of the security and administrative burden onto Egypt. Cairo has categorically rejected such ideas, stressing that Gaza is Palestinian land and that any attempt to delegate its administration to another state is an attempt to circumvent the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and shirk the occupying power’s responsibilities under international law.
“Egypt firmly opposes the idea of any external party administering Gaza,” strategic expert Lieutenant General Samir Farag told Al-Ahram Weekly. Recalling Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Strip in 2005, he stressed that the Palestinian people have the fundamental right to govern in accordance with the principle of Palestinian sovereignty.
Farag suggested that Trump might back such a fund given his stated eagerness to work towards a historic achievement that helps foster regional peace, which would further his aspirations for a Nobel Peace Prize.
However, in Farag’s view, achieving comprehensive peace in Gaza necessitates a concerted Arab and international drive to ensure sustainability, especially given the nature of the Trump administration’s Middle East policy moves. He also underscored the urgent need for Arab unity and collective resolve to set differences aside in the interest of rebuilding Gaza and alleviating the suffering of its people as soon as possible.
Recalling that Egypt administered Gaza and Jordan governed the West Bank from 1948 to 1967, Lieutenant General Mohamed Qashqoush, advisor at the Egyptian Higher Military Academy for Strategic Studies, stressed that “circumstances todayare entirely different.”
“Gaza is now under Israeli occupation and surrounded by Israeli settlements, and the occupation has a total disregard for humanitarian and legal considerations.”
According to Qashqoush, Egypt’s refusal to take over the administration of Gaza stems from multiple factors, including the need to avoid potential confrontations between Egypt and Hamas and Cairo’s commitment to upholding the principle of the Palestinians’ right to govern their own affairs.
Qashqoush believes that Hamas should relinquish its rule over Gaza, clearing the way for a broad-based Palestinian leadership.
“Ultimately, the general welfare of the Palestinian people must prevail over factional interests. It is impossible to realise regional stability until the higher interests of the people prevail over the narrow calculations of political factions,” he says.
On Trump’s proposal to turn Gaza into a riviera, Qashqoush said that Egypt and other Arab states had rejected it because of the absence of any genuine guarantee that displaced Palestinians would be able to return to their homes, and because it lacked a clear roadmap towards a just peace. He added that any lasting solution to the Palestinian crisis required strong and sustained political and economic support at the international level.
The Egypt vision “aims to rebuild Gaza and empower the Palestinian people to manage their own affairs in the Strip,” he continued.
“Very capable Palestinian leaders exist who can assume responsibility and play various crucial roles in the coming phase, including some who have recently been released from Israeli prisons.”
“Unity among Arab states behind this vision is imperative in order to come to the relief of millions of Palestinians in Gaza.”
* A version of this article appears in print in the 6 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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