Photo by
Majdi Fathi/TPS-IL on 15 February, 2025
Cairo Pressuring Hamas to Relinquish Control of Gaza to Counter Trump’s Plan
Jerusalem, 18 February, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Hoping to head off American plans to relocate Palestinians in Gaza, Cairo is increasing pressure on Hamas to relinquish control of the Strip in hopes of advancing an alternative Egyptian plan for rebuilding the Strip.
The central motif in the Egyptian plan is for Palestinians to move within various humanitarian zones within Gaza as reconstruction progresses in different areas. However, Arab sources told The Press Service of Israel that the weak point of Egypt’s plan is Hamas’s unwillingness to step aside.
“In recent days, Egyptian pressure on Hamas to give up power in the Gaza Strip has increased greatly in order to come up with a counter-plan to Trump’s idea,” an Arab source told TPS-IL.
Senior Egyptian intelligence officials have reportedly threatened Hamas representatives with serious consequences if they refuse to cooperate. Khalil al-Hayya, a Hamas delegation leader, allegedly received a warning that Hamas could disappear from the political landscape if it did not comply.
In recent days, Arab officials have urged Hamas to relinquish power. Calls have come from the Secretary-General of the Arab League, political advisors from the United Arab Emirates, and multiple media outlets in the region.
But Hamas has responded with mixed signals. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said that the terror group will not cling to power if it serves Palestinian interests. But senior figure Osama Hamdan insisted Hamas would not accept a government in Gaza that excludes Hamas, and that any such administration would be treated as “an occupier.”
A senior Palestinian official in Ramallah told TPS-IL that even if Hamas steps down as Gaza’s governing authority, it will not disarm.
Arab and Palestinian sources told TPS-IL that Egypt has received three different proposals from the United States but is now advancing two plans of its own. One of these is reportedly 70% complete and will be presented to a meeting of five Arab countries, followed by an Arab summit scheduled for the end of February.
Sources told TPS-IL that the Egyptian plan involves an investment of nearly $50 billion for the construction of 200,000 housing units. Gaza would be divided into three humanitarian zones and 20 separate construction areas, with 50 Egyptian construction companies involved in the effort. Cairo projects the reconstruction process taking three to five years, beginning in the south and progressing northward. Security responsibility would be shared among Arab countries and potentially European nations.
The Egyptian plan also proposes the establishment of a Palestinian National Management Committee to oversee the administration of Gaza.
To finance the initiative, Egypt is seeking contributions from an international conference of donor countries.
US President Donald Trump recently proposed temporarily relocating Gaza residents to third countries during the Strip’s reconstruction process.
Asked if the idea is realistic, Asher Fredman, executive director of the Misgav Institute in Jerusalem told TPS-IL that despite the public Palestinian rhetoric, many Gazans do want to leave Gaza. He cited a Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research survey published on June 26, 2024, which found that 44% of Gazans ages 18-29 would emigrate if given the chance.
A 2022 report, written by the Hamas-affiliated Council on International Relations and seen by TPS-IL, said 12% of the Strip’s population fled since 2007, when the terror group violently seized control of Gaza.
The ongoing first phase of the ceasefire is supposed to see a total of 33 Israeli hostages freed over six weeks in exchange for up to 1,904 Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel. The exact number will depend on how many Israeli captives are alive. Hamas notified Israeli authorities in January that of the 33, eight are dead, but offered no evidence.
Since the first hostage release on Jan. 19, Hamas has freed 19 Israeli and five Thai captives in exchange for 952 imprisoned Palestinian terrorists. Israel is preparing to receive the bodies of four dead hostages on Thursday and three living captives on Saturday.
The fate of the remaining 65 hostages will be determined by negotiations during the ceasefire’s second phase. Critics say the phased approach condemns these 65 hostages to open-ended captivity and undermines Israel’s war gains.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 73 remaining hostages, more than 30 are believed to be dead.
