International/News
Cairo, March 13 – Egypt reiterated today its support for any initiative aimed at achieving a just and comprehensive peace for the Palestinian people, in order to promote regional security and stability.
In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry urged all parties involved to intensify efforts to advance a process based on a peaceful solution. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted the comments of US President Donald Trump, who yesterday backed down and stated that he does not defend the expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
This position reflects the understanding of the importance of avoiding the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to work to find just and sustainable solutions, the text noted in reference to Trump's comments.
Although the president affirmed that he does not seek to expel the Palestinians, he did not dispel doubts about his plan proposed last month, which foresees US control of the enclave and the exodus of its population.
In fact, the Israeli government began to create organizations to accelerate the departure of Gazans to a third country.
Trump's plan provoked a wave of international criticism, especially in the Middle East, where Arab countries, led by Egypt, closed ranks with the Palestinians.
A few days ago, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi reaffirmed that the only solution to the Palestinian cause is the establishment of a national state in Gaza and the West Bank, while once again rejecting the displacement of that people.
Speaking at a symposium of the Egyptian Armed Forces, the president called for justice for the Palestinians.
This month, Egypt presented a plan at an extraordinary summit of the Arab League to rebuild the Strip over a five-year period at a cost of $53 billion, without expelling its population.
It consists of three phases, first immediate aid and shelter for inhabitants, as well as the clearing of millions of tons of debris, and later rebuilding homes and infrastructure.
In the six-month recovery cycle, three billion dollars will be spent to remove debris, then there will be a stage, which will last two years, and will cost 20 billion dollars to build about 200,000 homes.
This will lead to another 30-month phase, in which another $30 billion will be spent to build 200,000 housing units, an airport, a fishing port, a commercial port, and industrial facilities.
The proposal leaves the door open to the establishment of an internationally supervised trust fund as a financing mechanism. (Text and photo: PL)