While both Egypt and Jordan initially rejected President Trump’s plan for Gaza, according to which both countries would take in more than two million residents of Gaza who would leave the Strip while its reconstruction was going on, it seems that Egypt is now willing to take in half a million Gazans “temporarily.” More on this offer, and why it was made, can be found here: “Egypt willing to temporarily absorb half a million evacuated Gazans – Lebanese report,” Jerusalem Post, March 21, 2025:

“Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that his country was ready to temporarily host half a million Gazans who would be evacuated from the Gaza Strip, according to a Friday report by Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

“According to the report, the Gazans would be allocated a city in the north of the Sinai Peninsula.”

Does this mean these Gazans would be housed in a city that is already in existence, or would a new city be built to accommodate them? Would new housing be built for them, or would a brand-new city be constructed for them in northern Sinai, as Egypt has managed to do in building New Cairo in the Western Desert?

“The comment reportedly came during a conference held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the situation in the Middle East, in which the Egyptian leader was present, among other attendees.

“According to the report, the temporary relocation offer has raised concerns with Jordan, which has previously taken a strong stance against such a move….”

This offer by Egypt raises many questions. For Jordan, it is alarming, because it increases pressure on it to do the same, and to admit large numbers of Gazans whose increased presence would make the Palestinians, already more than 60% of Jordan’s population, rise to 70-75% of the total. This could threaten the rule of the Hashemite King Abdullah, who remembers how his father King Hussein had been challenged by Palestinians before, by the terrorists of Black September who tried to overthrow him in 1970.

It is also not clear what this offer means by “temporary” resettlement. Would it last the entire time that the reconstruction of Gaza is going on, or would the Gazans be expected to go back before then? Trump’s plan mentions a period of five years during which the Gazans would be expected to remain outside the Strip. For what period does El Sisi plan to house those half-million Gazans?

Was the offer made in good faith, or merely as a way for Egypt to curry favor with President Trump, with El-Sisi expecting no more than a handful of Gazans — certainly not half-a-million — to take up his offer?

Did the Trump administration put pressure on El-Sisi to make the offer, by threatening to cut off all aid to Egypt? Has it done the same with Jordan, or does it recognize that King Abdullah is in a different situation from El-Sisi, and worries about a still larger Palestinian population overwhelming the Jordanians in his kingdom?

Who would pay for the new housing in the northern Sinai? One assumes that the rich oil states of the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait, would be called on, rather than the United States. Trump has no interest in committing tens of billions of dollars to such a project. Has such a commitment from those states to provide necessary funds to Egypt been received?

Many questions remain. But it’s a sign that Trump’s plan for Gaza, though widely ridiculed when first proposed, is having a salutary effect.

Image - Reuters