Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
In a move that is drawing both international attention and regional skepticism, Israeli opposition figure Yair Lapid has presented a controversial proposal to senior U.S. officials, calling for Egypt to assume administrative control over the Gaza Strip for a period of 15 years. In exchange, the international community would forgive Egypt’s foreign debt, estimated at $155 billion.
The proposal, described by Israel’s Maariv newspaper as a “revolutionary plan,” was outlined during Lapid’s recent visit to Washington, where he met with senior members of the Trump administration and key figures in the U.S. Senate. He first unveiled the plan publicly at a conference hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington-based think tank.
According to Maariv, Lapid’s proposal has been in development for several months and involved collaboration with top Israeli political and security officials. It aims to address what Lapid described as a dual crisis: the enduring control of Hamas over Gaza, and Egypt’s worsening economic situation.
“After nearly a year and a half of fighting, the world is still surprised to find that Hamas continues to rule Gaza,” Lapid said during his speech at the FDD event. “No one in the current Israeli government has put forward a realistic alternative. Due to political and sometimes religious reasons, Netanyahu’s government has failed to take the necessary steps to establish an effective administration in Gaza that would remove Hamas from power.”
Lapid highlighted two key challenges Israel faces on its southern border:
- The Gaza Dilemma: Israel, he argued, cannot accept Hamas remaining in control of Gaza. The Palestinian Authority, he added, is too weak to take over, a return to direct Israeli occupation is politically and strategically untenable, and continued chaos in the enclave poses a significant security threat to Israel.
- Egypt’s Economic Challenges: Lapid emphasized that Egypt’s economic crisis, driven in part by an unsustainable debt load, has reached a point where it threatens not only the stability of the country but also the broader Middle East. He argued that relieving Egypt of its massive foreign debt could empower it to revitalize its economy and rebuild its military, thereby contributing to regional stability.
Despite the boldness of the plan, early responses suggest it may face insurmountable hurdles. Cairo has consistently and publicly rejected any suggestion that it would assume control of Gaza, even temporarily. Egyptian officials have reiterated on multiple occasions that the country has no intention of becoming involved in governing the enclave, which has been under Hamas control since 2007 following a violent split from the Palestinian Authority.
While Lapid’s plan may find an audience in certain diplomatic and policy circles, particularly among those eager for a new approach to the intractable Gaza crisis, it remains unclear whether such a proposal could ever gain traction with the parties most directly involved. For now, it joins a long list of bold but highly contentious ideas floated in the effort to reshape the future of Gaza and the region.
