Rome (TDI): The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and UK said on Saturday they supported an Arab-backed plan for the reconstruction of Gaza that would cost $53 billion and avoid displacing Palestinians from the enclave.
“The plan shows a realistic path to the reconstruction of the enclave and promises – if implemented – rapid and sustainable improvement of the devastating living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza,” the ministers said in a joint statement.
The plan, which was drawn up by Egypt and adopted by Arab leaders on Tuesday, has been rejected by Israel and US President Donald Trump, who has presented his own plan to turn the enclave into a “Middle East Riviera.”
The Egyptian proposal envisages the creation of an administrative committee of independent, professional Palestinian technocrats entrusted with the governance of the territory after the end of the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
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The committee would be responsible for the oversight of humanitarian assistance and managing the Gaza affairs for a temporary period under the supervision of the Palestinian Authority.
The statement issued by the four European nations on Saturday said they were “committed to working with the Arab initiative,” and they commended the “important signal” the Arab countries had sent by developing it.
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The statement said Hamas “must neither govern the enclave nor be a threat to Israel any more” and that the four nations “support the central role for the Palestinian Authority and the implementation of its reform agenda.”
