Ibrahim Khazen and Rania Abu Shamala
24 February 2025•Update: 24 February 2025
CAIRO
Egypt said Monday that it is capable of rebuilding the war-torn Gaza Strip in the shortest possible time after Israel’s brutal war.
“Unfortunately, we have witnessed over a year of aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in widespread destruction on Palestinian lands,” Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam said in an event organized by the Egyptian Engineers Syndicate.
Egypt “has unequivocally affirmed - through President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian government, the Egyptian people, and our armed forces – its total rejection of the displacement of the Palestinian people from their land,” added Sewilam.
He noted that Egypt “has confirmed that the only solution to achieving peace and security for all the peoples of the region is through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the entire Palestinian national territory, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
The minister said Egypt has put forward a proposal to reconstruct Gaza without displacing its Palestinian inhabitants.
Egypt “is distinguished by having tens of thousands of competent engineers and by owning major companies active in the construction and contracting sector, which form the cornerstone of implementing the reconstruction plan with the highest efficiency and in the shortest possible time,” he concluded.
The Egyptian minister did not provide further details regarding the proposal or the date of its announcement.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for taking over Gaza and resettling its population to develop it into what he called “the Riviera of the Middle East.” The idea has been vehemently rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.
His controversial idea came amid a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took effect last month, pausing Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed over 48,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
