Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
In a significant diplomatic development, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aaty announced that a transitional committee of 15 independent Palestinian technocrats will take over the administration of Gaza for a six-month period once the ongoing Israeli military campaign comes to an end. The initiative, backed by the Palestinian Authority, is part of a broader strategy to stabilize the war-torn enclave and restore governance under a unified Palestinian framework.
Speaking to Egyptian media, Abdel Aaty emphasized that the transitional phase would be fully supervised by the Palestinian Authority and is designed to reinforce the political and territorial unity between the West Bank and Gaza. The plan envisions the committee as a stopgap governance structure during a critical phase of political transition and reconstruction.
“This is a temporary arrangement meant to pave the way for a unified Palestinian political system,” Abdel Aaty stated. “It is vital to ensure that Gaza and the West Bank are treated as one cohesive political and geographic entity.”
The Egyptian plan is being formulated in coordination with Qatar and the United States, both of whom are engaged in parallel diplomatic efforts aimed at restoring a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, a truce that previously took effect in early 2025 but collapsed after two months due to disputes over long-term terms.
Abdel Aaty reaffirmed Cairo’s commitment to reviving that earlier ceasefire agreement, which included the release of hostages and Palestinian detainees, as well as the unimpeded flow of humanitarian and medical aid into the Gaza Strip. “The ultimate goal is a return to that ceasefire framework,” he said, stressing that humanitarian access must not be subjected to political conditions or delays.
Addressing international concerns about the future of Gaza’s security, the Egyptian foreign minister reiterated that any sustainable solution must preserve the Palestinian right to statehood and ensure the exclusivity of arms in the hands of a recognized Palestinian state. This was in direct response to Israeli demands that Hamas disarm, a condition Cairo views as unfeasible without a broader political resolution.
He also issued a sharp rebuke to what he described as ongoing Israeli attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians from their homes, warning that such actions have no legal or moral justification. “If Palestinians are expelled, they may never return,” he warned, accusing Israel of seeking to issue Palestinians a “one-way exit ticket.”
These statements come amid the continued Israeli military campaign in Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, following Hamas’s “Al-Aqsa Toufan” operation. Since then, the conflict has escalated into a full-scale war, leaving vast swaths of Gaza in ruins and triggering an acute humanitarian crisis. Severe shortages of food, water, medicine, and fuel have prompted international warnings of famine and collapse.
Egypt has played a central role as a mediator throughout the conflict, hosting multiple rounds of talks in Cairo and maintaining close coordination with both regional and international partners. The 60-day ceasefire reached in January 2025 marked a rare diplomatic breakthrough, involving a limited exchange of hostages and detainees, but the fragile truce fell apart in March amid disagreements over a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The current Egyptian reconstruction and governance proposal unveiled during an emergency Arab summit, seeks not only to restore civil order in Gaza but also to lay the groundwork for Palestinian political reconciliation. The plan also includes training security forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority to fill the current power vacuum and prevent further fragmentation of the enclave.
Central to the proposal is a firm rejection of any attempt to alter Gaza’s demographic or political character. Egypt insists that Gaza remains an integral part of Palestinian national territory and that any solution must uphold the rights of its people without forcing them to abandon their land.
As the war grinds on with no clear end in sight, Egypt’s diplomatic initiative may represent one of the few remaining avenues for both temporary stabilization and the long-term revival of Palestinian political unity.
