Gaza Arab plan may involve up to $20 billion regional contribution, sources say

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is expected to travel to Riyadh on Thursday, two Egyptian security sources say, where he is due to discuss an Arab plan for Gaza that may include up to $20 billion from the region for reconstruction.

The Arab proposal, mostly based on an Egyptian plan, involves forming a national Palestinian committee to govern Gaza without Hamas involvement and international participation in reconstruction without displacing Palestinians abroad.

A $20 billion contribution from Arab and Gulf states towards the fund, cited by two sources as being a likely figure, may be a good incentive for Trump to accept the plan, Emirati academic Abdulkhaleq Abdullah says.

“Trump is transactional so $20 billion would resonate well with him,” Abdullah says. “This would benefit a lot of US and Israeli companies.”

Egyptian sources tell Reuters discussions are still under way as to the size of the financial contribution by the region.

The plan sees reconstruction taking place over a three-year timeframe, sources say.

“My conversations with Arab leaders, most recently King Abdullah, have convinced me they have a really realistic appraisal of what their role should be,” Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters in Tel Aviv during a visit to Israel on Monday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel was waiting to evaluate the plan as it comes together but warned that any plan in which Hamas continued to have a presence in Gaza was not acceptable.

“When we hear it we will know how to address it,” he said.