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Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Tuesday unveiled a proposal for Egypt to take over management and security responsibility for the Gaza Strip for an initial period of eight years in return for massive debt relief.
Mr Lapid said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi might be open to the proposal given his country’s mounting debt and precarious finances, which have been hammered by a drop in tourism since the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Gaza.
“Egypt's external debt is more than $155 billion. Its ability to borrow money is fading away. If President El Sisi can't subsidise pitta bread for the poor in Egypt, if he can't pay the bills for the Egyptian military, his leadership is at risk,” Mr Lapid said. “The solution is Egypt will take responsibility for the management of the Gaza Strip for eight years, with an option to extend to 15 years. At the same time, its foreign external debt will be paid off by the international community and regional allies.”
The former Israeli prime minister said he was unveiling his idea for the first time and had not spoken to the Egyptians about it. He predicted Cairo would “say no, and then yes”. Speaking at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies in Washington, Mr Lapid, 61, said his proposal envisioned Egypt running the Gaza Strip for eight years at first, with an option to extend this to 15 years.
Under the proposal, control would ultimately be handed over to a reformed Palestinian Authority. “Egypt will lead a peace force in partnership with the Gulf states and the international community for the management and rebuilding of Gaza,” he said.
President Donald Trump this month said he wanted the US to take over Gaza, displace its citizens and rebuild the battered enclave. His comments angered Arab countries, which are now working on alternative solutions. Mr Lapid noted that there is historical precedent for the plan – Egypt controlled Gaza from 1948 to 1956, and for another decade from 1957.
“Nobody's asking them to annex Gaza. We are asking them to manage Gaza for 15 years. That's a huge difference, and this is something I think they can live with, and it doesn't contradict what they want to do in the region.”
Egypt would lead a “peace force” of the Gulf states and the international community “for the management and rebuilding of Gaza”, he said, adding that “basically, Egypt needs to rule Gaza”.
“We will have to work together in preventing terror from happening, because Hamas is not going to willingly go away,” said Mr Lapid, who was caretaker prime minister of Israel for six months in 2022.