They’re all delusional. [IsraelTimes] Egypt’s Sissi presents proposal that would see Gazans remain in Strip during 5-year reconstruction, but avoids difficult questions on Hamas, which US says cannot remain in power
They’re completely missing the point: even if not in power, if allowed to stay in situ the community will do it all again. But then, Egypt has persuaded itself that they won the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Arab leaders adopted an Egyptian reconstruction plan for Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response ...
on Tuesday that would cost $53 billion and avoid displacing Paleostinians from the enclave, in contrast to US President Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...
’s "Middle East Riviera" vision.
Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi said the proposal, welcomed in subsequent statements by Hamas
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
and criticized by Israel, had been accepted at the closing of a summit he hosted in Cairo.
Only Israel’s opinion matters… And President Trump’s. Sissi said at the summit that he was certain Trump would be able to achieve peace in the conflict that has devastated the Gaza Strip.
However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken...
the agreement did not address the major questions that need to be answered about Gaza’s future regarding the role of Hamas
…none… and which countries will provide the billions of dollars needed for reconstruction.
Sissi stressed that his country’s reconstruction plan would allow Paleostinians to remain in the war-torn territory.
No running water, no electricity, no sewer system, very few livable buildings — but lots of rubble, asbestos dust, unstable tunnel remnants, leaking poo ponds, and Hamas warehouses stuffed to the rafters with necessities hoarded away from the population. Why does President al-Sisi want the Gazans to suffer in the midst of squalor instead of letting them escape into the world where they can find jobs and healthy, comfortable places to live? He said that independent Paleostinian technocrats unaffiliated with Hamas would run the Strip after an end to the war.
Israel also refuses to allow anyone related to the Palestinian Authority — which is just the old PLO with a pretty figleaf covering — to run Gaza. How many Gazan unicorns exist who are aligned with neither the PLO nor Hamas? The committee would be responsible for the oversight of humanitarian aid and managing the Strip’s affairs for a temporary period, in preparation for the return of the Paleostinian Authority, he said.
In a statement, Hamas said it welcomed the plan as well as the formation of the Paleostinian committee.
Uh huh. FUTURE OF HAMAS
There appeared to be divisions among participants over the future of Hamas, which sparked the war with the October 7, 2023 onslaught on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostages.
The UAE, which sees Hamas and other Islamists as an existential threat, wants an immediate and complete disarmament of the terror group, while other Arab countries advocate a gradual approach, a source close to the matter told Rooters.
No gradualism. No Hamsniks. Let them move to Qatar or Turkey, somewhere far from Gaza. A source close to Saudi Arabia
 ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
’s royal court said the continued armed presence of Hamas in Gaza was a stumbling block because of strong objections from the United States and Israel, which would need to sign off on any plan.
Such perspicacity. "President Trump has been clear that Hamas cannot continue to govern Gaza," White House National Security Council front man Brian Hughes said Tuesday in response to Arab leaders’ endorsement of the Egyptian plan. "While the president stands by his bold vision for a post-war Gaza, he welcomes input from our Arab partners in the region. It’s clear his proposals have driven the region to come to the table rather than allow this issue to devolve into further crisis."
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the Egyptian plan "fails to address the realities of the situation."
"It is noteworthy that Hamas’s vicious terror assault isn’t mentioned, and there isn’t even a condemnation of this murderous terrorist entity, despite the documented atrocities," the statement said.
Precisely. It reiterated Israel’s support for Trump’s plan to resettle Gaza’s population elsewhere, describing it as "an opportunity for the Gazooks to have free choice based on their free will," a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again gave his full-throated backing to the proposal, calling it "visionary and innovative."
The Foreign Ministry statement also urged responsible regional states to "break free from past constraints and collaborate to create a future of stability and security in the region."
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty blasted Israel’s rejection as "unacceptable," describing its position as "stubborn and bad boy."
Too damned bad. This is what losing the war you started looks like. "There will be no peace neither to Israel or to the region" without establishing an independent Paleostinian state in accordance with United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
resolutions, he said.
War it is, then. Egypt must be looking forward to being Lebanon in the next round. He said "Israel violates all international law rules ... the international law must be imposed."
Some key elements were missing in the Egyptian education, if the Egyptian foreign minister is so deluded, "No single state should be allowed to impose its will on the international community," Abdelatty said.
Go back and try again, dude your excellency. Joe Biden no longer lives in the White House. And if you don’t live up to your treaty obligations, America will summarily cut you off. Paleostinians, along with the Arab world and many allies of Israel and the US, have condemned Trump’s proposal, rejecting any efforts to expel Gazooks.
That’s nice. ’PRESERVING THE HORIZON OF A TWO-STATE SOLUTION’
There’s the other fundamental error. At Tuesday’s meeting, Sissi also reissued a call for a two-state solution.
No. "There will be no true peace without the establishment of the Paleostinian state," Sissi said during Tuesday’s meeting. "It’s time to adopt the launching of a serious and effective political path that leads to a permanent and lasting solution to the Paleostinian cause according to the resolutions of international legitimacy."
So sorry, but the Palestinians in general have missed the boat, and then the Gazans holed it and burnt the sunken hulk. The Egyptian plan, called "Early Recovery, Reconstruction, Development of Gaza," is based on "preserving the rights, dignity and humanity of the Paleostinian people, and on the horizon of a two-state solution."
The Palestinian state at this point is far beyond the event horizon by dint of their own efforts, both in Gaza, where they are still holding captives in inhumane conditions, and in the West Bank, where they are busily doing Hamas’s (and Iran’s bidding. The Egyptian proposal says it is "illogical" to ignore Paleostinians’ desire to remain on their land.
Oh well. Anyway… It also calls for the continuation of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and the release of Israeli hostages and Paleostinian prisoners.
The Egyptian document, reviewed by The Times of Israel, envisions a Gaza Administration Committee, made up of independent technocrats, to manage an initial six-month transitional phase. It also urges elections in all Paleostinian areas within a year, if conditions support such a move.
And now the Handwavium: Using colorful AI images, it envisages a series of modern living spaces, agricultural zones, commercial centers and government complexes throughout the Strip. An airport and seaport would also be constructed, according to Egypt’s plan, which would continue until 2030.
The emir of Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
, Bahrain’s king, the vice president of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister attended the Cairo confab, as did UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Any reconstruction funding would require heavy buy-in from oil-rich Gulf Arab states such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which have the billions of dollars needed. Egypt estimated the plan would cost US$ 53 billion.
PA Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa said the reconstruction fund would seek international financing as well as oversight and likely be located in the World Bank.
In a speech at the summit, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said international guarantees were needed that the current temporary ceasefire would remain in place, and supported the PA’s role in governing the strip.
Israel will not accept the PA. Try again with something else. Leaders of the UAE and Qatar did not speak during open sessions of the summit.
Guterres said he fully supported the Egyptian plan.
"I welcome and strongly endorse the Arab-led initiative to mobilize support for Gaza’s reconstruction, clearly expressed in this summit," he said. "The UN stands ready to fully cooperate in this endeavor."
Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....>
, also in attendance, said he too welcomed the plan. The 89-year-old — who has been ruling since winning the last Paleostinian national elections in 2005 — said he is ready to hold presidential and parliamentary elections if circumstances allow, asserting that the PA is the only legitimate governing and military force in the West Bank and Gaza.
Wrong. The PA is not a legitimate governing force in either the West Bank or Gaza. Abbas has repeatedly promised to hold elections and then backtracked over the years.
And that’s why. If the long-overdue elections were ever actually held, Hamas would win in the West Bank, no matter what happened in Gaza. Trump triggered surprise and indignation when he first floated his idea last month for the United States to "take over" the Gaza Strip and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East" while forcing its Paleostinian residents to relocate to Egypt, Jordan and elsewhere.
Trump has since appeared to soften his stance, saying he was "not forcing" the plan, which experts have said could violate international law.
Netanyahu has embraced the Trump plan, however, saying that Israel is "committed" to it. Working groups have begun fleshing out the plan, Israeli officials told The Times of Israel.
HAMAS WON’T LET ’EXTERNAL FORCES’ DETERMINE GAZA’S FUTURE
Hamas front man Hazem Qassem said Tuesday that the terror group will only accept an Arab-led plan for postwar reconstruction of Gaza that wins the support of Paleostinians in the enclave, rejecting "external forces" determining the future of the Strip.
"Our position is clear, any plans for Gaza’s future... must be reached through national consensus, and we will facilitate the process," Qassem told Ottoman Turkish news outlet Anadolu.
Earlier, leading Hamas figure Sami Abu Zuhri
...a senior spokesman for Hamas. Zuhri gained notoriety in 2006 when he dropped his money belt containing somewhere between 640,000 and 900,000 euros, which was confiscated by Paleostinian security and customs officials at a routine border crossing from Egypt to Gaza. The news brought competing Hamas and Fatah forces to the crossing checkpoint for an epic face-making and hollering contest...
said the terror group would not disarm, and nor would other armed Paleostinian organizations. "Any talk about the resistance’s weapons is nonsense. The resistance’s weapons are a red line for Hamas and all resistance factions," Abu Zuhri said, speaking in the context of potential negotiations to end the current ceasefire.
And there it is. AMBITIOUS FRAMEWORK, MISSING KEY SPECIFICS
The Egyptian plan doesn’t explain what Hamas’s fate would be, or how to prevent the terror group from intimidating officials or firing rockets at Israel.
Back to the drawing board. It does call for Egypt and Jordan to train Paleostinian police, and a draft version encouraged the examination of an international force in the West Bank and Gaza.
That’s a detail, not the framework. In the medium term, Israel and the Paleostinian Authority would negotiate final status issues.
No. The early recovery phase would last six months and cost $3 billion, followed by a five-year reconstruction phase at a cost of $53 billion.
The plan takes its inspiration from the reconstruction of Hiroshima and Berlin, cities devastated by Allied attacks in World War II. They are now thriving, modern cities.
Before they were rebuilt, the countries had to surrender completely, disarm, and be de-Nazified for the Germans and the emperor lost his sacred status for Japan. Where is that in this plan? Despite lacking solutions to fundamental challenges like Hamas’s role, the ambitious plan is concerned with issues like walkability, green buildings and smart cities.
It also doesn’t leave the Mediterranean resorts only to Trump’s plan. The Egyptian program also calls for resorts and tourist villages on the beach.
It plans for 120 hospitals and clinics to be constructed across the Strip.
The Cairo summit is taking place as Israel and Hamas find themselves at an impasse over the future of a fragile hostage-ceasefire deal that began on January 19.
The ceasefire’s first phase saw 33 Israeli hostages released, eight of them dead, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Paleostinian prisoners, including many convicted bully boyz serving hefty jail sentences. Five Thai nationals held hostage in the Gaza Strip were freed separately during that period.
While Israel said it backed an extension of the first phase until mid-April — including the release of the remaining 59 hostages in two batches toward the beginning and end of the Ramadan and Passover holidays that run through March and until April 19 — Hamas has accused Israel of violating the original deal and has insisted on continuing to the second stage.
Netanyahu on Monday warned Hamas that "there will be consequences that you cannot imagine" if the hostages still held by bully boyz were not released.
A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, accused Israel of actively sabotaging the ceasefire, calling its push for an extension "a blatant attempt to... avoid entering into negotiations for the second phase."
| Update at 11:30 a.m.ET: the full text of the proposal can be read here. |
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...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....