Abbas Obstructs the Egyptian Proposal for Gaza Reconstruction
Coinciding with Cairo’s efforts to rally Arab consensus around its plan for the reconstruction of Gaza without displacing Palestinians, and leading a broad diplomatic movement to stop the Israeli-American displacement scheme, the Palestinian Authority announced that its president, Mahmoud Abbas, had presented a plan that contradicts Egypt’s proposal in several aspects for the emergency Arab summit scheduled for early March.
Egypt, along with donor and supporting countries, refuses to grant the Palestinian Authority direct control over the funds allocated for reconstruction, a condition insisted upon by President Abbas. This disagreement poses significant obstacles to the implementation of his plan in the way he envisions.
The management of reconstruction funds is one of the main reasons behind Egypt and the donors’ reservations about Abbas’s plan. There is international concern that the Palestinian Authority’s control over these funds could lead to mismanagement, particularly given past accusations of weak financial transparency and oversight. Donors fear that allowing the Authority full control over the funds may open the door to misuse or further political polarization rather than achieving real development within Gaza.
Conversely, Abbas rejects any arrangement in which the Palestinian Authority does not play the primary role, arguing that financial control is an essential part of asserting the Authority’s sovereignty over Gaza as an integral part of Palestinian territories.
An Effective Administrative System on the Ground
According to political sources, another reason for Cairo’s reservations is that the Palestinian Authority lacks the necessary human and administrative resources to govern Gaza effectively after its absence from the Strip since 2007, when Hamas took control.
Egypt believes that any process to reinstate the Authority in Gaza requires an effective administrative system on the ground, something the Palestinian Authority currently lacks, making its plan difficult to implement practically.
This has led Egypt to explore alternative, more feasible solutions beyond the traditional approaches proposed by Abbas.
Given these concerns, Cairo is working on a different vision for managing and reconstructing Gaza, emphasizing its own primary role in overseeing the Strip, along with participation from international donor bodies, to ensure transparency in handling reconstruction funds.
Managing Projects and Infrastructure
According to this vision, projects and infrastructure would be managed by a technical committee under Egyptian supervision and international oversight, ensuring their implementation within clear developmental frameworks.
The Egyptian plan also includes selecting local professionals to oversee various sectors in Gaza. Cairo is attempting to convince the United States that the best approach for managing Gaza cannot simply be a traditional reinstatement of the Palestinian Authority’s rule.
Egypt seeks to establish understandings that ensure Gaza’s stability, including pressuring Hamas to make concessions regarding its armed capabilities and handing over full control of border crossings to a neutral entity under international supervision.
This approach aims to prevent the recurrence of previous scenarios that led to the failure of past attempts to stabilize Gaza. However, the main obstacle remains Abbas’s refusal to accept any proposal that does not grant him direct control over Gaza, especially as Palestinian factions, particularly Hamas, reject working under Egyptian and international supervision in a way that denies them political or military influence.
Abbas’s Vision for Gaza’s Administration
Abbas’s vision revolves around enabling the Palestinian Authority to assume its duties and responsibilities in Gaza, similar to its governance of the occupied West Bank, reaffirming Palestinian territorial unity and its geographic, political, and legal jurisdiction.
His plan includes securing a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, alongside the Authority’s complete control over all border crossings, including Kerem Shalom and the Rafah crossing with Egypt, to be operated in cooperation with Egypt and the European Union under the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian government has developed a reconstruction plan that ensures the continued presence of residents in Gaza, in coordination with Cairo and international organizations, including the World Bank, the United Nations, and the European Union.
This plan is set to be presented at the extraordinary Arab summit on March 4 in Cairo for official approval.
Additionally, the Palestinian Authority has emphasized the need to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which is a key provider of humanitarian services within Gaza.
At the same time, Palestine is working with Egypt and the United Nations to organize an international conference for reconstruction, involving donor countries and organizations, within the framework of an international trust fund in cooperation with the World Bank.
