Conflicting accounts have emerged over plans to rebuild Gaza after a U.S. official rejected a report that the broader reconstruction effort had been reduced to a limited pilot project in the southern part of the enclave.
Brad Klapper of the U.S.-led Board of Peace denied the report in a response to MBN.
“Untrue. This is based on nothing,” Klapper said.
He did not provide further details about the plan’s scope or implementation timeline.
President Donald Trump established the Board of Peace to oversee Gaza’s transitional administration and reconstruction under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan.
The Guardian reported Thursday that an initial proposal envisioning large-scale reconstruction across Gaza had shifted toward the creation of a temporary zone near Rafah. The project would provide shelter for tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians, according to the newspaper.
The area would be administered by Palestinians and secured by an international force working alongside a specially trained and vetted Palestinian police force.
The newspaper said construction had not begun on either the temporary zone or a support base for the International Stabilization Force. It also reported that substantial progress was unlikely before Israel’s parliamentary elections on Oct. 27.
The Board of Peace’s published redevelopment framework, however, describes Rafah as the first stage of a broader, phased plan. It says the initial phase would include more than 100,000 housing units serving over 500,000 residents.
Preparations for the proposed international force are also continuing.
The Board of Peace said personnel from the Kosovo Security Force had arrived in Israel to assist with logistics and civil affairs. Morocco has signed an agreement to participate, pledging senior military officers and personnel from the police and gendarmerie, as well as a field hospital for Gaza.
There has been no public announcement that those personnel have entered the territory.
The United Nations Security Council authorized the temporary force under Resolution 2803. It is intended to support security in Gaza and work alongside vetted Palestinian police under arrangements that include the disarmament of Hamas and a phased Israeli withdrawal.
The political, legal and security arrangements required for deployment have not been completed.
The dispute comes amid widespread destruction and a prolonged humanitarian crisis. A United Nations official said in June that more than three-quarters of Gaza’s buildings and roads had been damaged or destroyed.
It remains unclear whether the proposed Rafah project represents the first stage of the broader reconstruction plan, a more limited interim arrangement, or both.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
