France, Germany, Italy, and the UK declared on Saturday their support for the Arab-endorsed plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
On March 4, 2025, the Arab countries unanimously approved a $53bn plan which will rebuild Gaza without displacing Palestinians from their territory, in contrast to the US President Donald Trump’s proposal that involves displacing Gazans and resettling them elsewhere.
European Support for Reconstruction Plan
On Saturday, March 8, 2025, the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, and the UK issued a joint statement, announcing their support for the Arab-endorsed plan.
“We, the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom welcome the Arab initiative of a Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza,” the statement said.
The Foreign Ministers of the four European countries said that plan provides a realistic path towards rebuilding Gaza. “The plan shows a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and promises – if implemented – swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza,” they said in the joint statement.
Long-term Peace in Gaza
The joint statement stressed that the reconstruction plan must provide long-term peace for both the Palestinians and Israel. “Recovery and reconstruction efforts must be based upon a solid political and security framework acceptable to both Israelis and Palestinians, which provides long term peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians alike,” the statement noted.
Furthermore, the Foreign Ministers reiterated their position regarding Hamas’ role in post-war Gaza. “We are clear that Hamas must neither govern Gaza nor be a threat to Israel any more. We explicitly support the central role for the Palestinian Authority and the implementation of its reform agenda,” they said.
Europeans Ready to Cooperate
The Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, and the UK praised Arab efforts to forge the reconstruction plan. “We commend the serious efforts of all involved stakeholders and appreciate the important signal the Arab states have sent by jointly developing this recovery and reconstruction plan,” they said.
The Ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to cooperating with all stakeholders to advance the plan. “We are committed to working with the Arab initiative, the Palestinians and Israel to address those issues together, including security and governance. We urge all parties to build on the plan’s merits as a starting point,” the joint statement concluded.
Gaza Reconstruction Plan
The Arab-endorsed Gaza reconstruction plan, developed by Egypt, consists of an early recovery plan and two key phases over five years.
According to Egypt’s Al-Ahram Online, the early recovery phase lasts for 6 months, involving providing temporary housing units for Palestinians, clearing all unexploded ordnance and removing and recycling 50 million tons of rubble.
Meanwhile, the first and second phases include building 400,000 permanent housing units to accommodate 2.7 million Palestinians. The plan also includes launching major infrastructure projects, including industrial zones, hotels, large park areas, an airport, a fishing port and a commercial port.
Under the plan, an independent committee of non-factional technocrats will administer Gaza for a transitional period, under the supervision of the Palestinian Authority, while enabling the Palestinian Authority to return to Gaza.
Meanwhile, Egypt and Jordan will train Palestinian police forces, ensuring their ability to maintain security in Gaza. The plan also calls for a medium-term truce between the Palestinian Authority and Israel for a specific period of time across all the Palestinian territories.
Moreover, it calls on the Security Council to deploy international peacekeeping forces in the Palestinian territories, within the framework of establishing a Palestinian State.
