Gazans arrive in central Gaza after fleeing from Rafah on May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
White House spokesman rejects Arab-backed proposal to remove Hamas from power while leaving Gazans in place, says US stands by Trump’s vision of resettling the Strip’s population.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
The United States on Tuesday rejected an Egyptian plan to rehabilitate the Gaza Strip and remove Hamas from power, without resettling the coastal enclave’s population of roughly two million.
Earlier on Tuesday, Arab leaders voted at a Cairo summit to back a 112-page proposal drafted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government.
Egypt pushed the plan as an alternative to President Donald Trump’s Gaza resettlement plan, under which Gazans would be relocated to third-party countries and the Gaza Strip transferred to the United States.
Under the Egyptian proposal, a non-partisan interim committee of Palestinian Arabs would be formed to administer Gaza after the formal end of the current war between Israel and Hamas.
Once the Palestinian Authority has undergone a major reformation, control of the Gaza Strip would be transferred from the committee to the PA.
Foreign aid would pay for the years-long reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip in the Egyptian plan, while Gazans would be temporarily relocated within the Strip during the lengthy period of rebuilding.
Hours after the plan was adopted at the Cairo summit, however, White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said Tuesday night that the U.S. would not accept the Egyptian plan, and that the administration remains committed to the president’s resettlement plan.
Hughes argued that the Gaza Strip is presently “uninhabitable,” necessitating their relocation.
“The current proposal does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable, and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance,” Hughes said.
“President Trump stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas. We look forward to further talks to bring peace and prosperity to the region.”
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