Two Arab diplomats revealed that Washington has circulated a proposal for rebuilding Gaza that centers on creating new residential zones in the eastern half of the Strip, an area that remains under Israeli control, Jacob Magid reports for The Times of Israel.
The plan, described by the diplomats to The Times of Israel, envisions the construction of roughly six residential districts—part of what US officials have reportedly dubbed “new Gaza.”
According to the diplomats, the term refers to the stretch of territory east of the “Yellow Line,” the provisional boundary drawn after Israel pulled back at the start of the October 10 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The partial withdrawal left Israel overseeing about 53 percent of Gaza, though the Trump administration’s framework calls for a gradual pullout that would eventually see the IDF leave the Strip altogether.
That step, however, is conditioned on two major developments: the successful formation of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to manage Gaza’s postwar security and the complete disarmament of Hamas. Since Hamas has made no indication of surrendering its weapons, both prerequisites remain elusive.
The Times of Israel reports that despite those challenges, Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner reportedly told Gulf diplomats that Washington intends to begin reconstruction without delay, focusing first on Israeli-controlled territory east of the Yellow Line and on Rafah in Gaza’s south.
The initiative foresees as many as one million Palestinians—roughly half of Gaza’s population—relocating to these new residential areas within two years. But the diplomats who were briefed on the plan called that projection wildly unrealistic. “Palestinians may not want to live under the rule of Hamas, but the idea that they’ll be willing to move to live under Israeli occupation and be under control of the party they also see as responsible for killing 70,000 of their brethren is fantastical,” one Arab diplomat said, referencing figures from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
While the White House has not issued any public statement, one US official told reporters that Washington has not finalized any particular blueprint for Gaza’s future governance. The official emphasized that “lots of ideas are being discussed” and that the process remains in its early stages.
Among those floated ideas was a proposal developed at the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat. It suggested establishing a “humanitarian belt” along the Yellow Line, containing about 16 distribution hubs similar to those once run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Two people familiar with the discussions said humanitarian agencies strongly objected, preventing the plan from moving forward.
The diplomats said the US now hopes to deploy the ISF on the Hamas-controlled side of the Yellow Line, but key regional partners like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pushed back. Washington had been counting on both nations to fund much of the project.
Although Trump has claimed that multiple countries are eager to participate in the disarmament of Hamas, the diplomats insisted that enthusiasm is lacking. Nations such as Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Egypt have reportedly signaled conditional willingness to contribute troops—only if a UN mandate is in place or Hamas agrees to hand over at least part of its arsenal.
One of the diplomats added that the US might find greater cooperation if the ISF initially deployed on the Israeli-held side of the Yellow Line, replacing the IDF there, in tandem with an agreement for Hamas to begin disarming.
Still, both envoys said it remains uncertain whether Kushner and other US officials managing the Gaza portfolio are taking regional feedback seriously. As one diplomat put it, Arab governments are attempting to balance opposition to core aspects of Washington’s proposal with the desire to remain on good terms with Trump, whose backing they rely on in other policy areas.
That diplomat also noted that American officials have indicated an intention to bring a UN Security Council resolution later this month to formally establish the ISF—potentially before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s November 18 visit to the White House, a meeting viewed in Washington as pivotal to the Gaza rebuilding push.
{Matzav.com}
