CAIRO: Egypt rejected on Wednesday an Israeli opposition leader鈥檚 proposal that it take over the administration of Gaza, calling the idea 鈥渦nacceptable鈥� and contrary to longstanding Egyptian and Arab policy.
鈥淎ny notions or proposals that circumvent the constants of the Egyptian and Arab stance (on Gaza)... are rejected and unacceptable,鈥� the official MENA news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesman Tamim Khallaf as saying, a day after Israel鈥檚 Yair Lapid floated the idea.
In press remarks, Khallaf said any suggestions bypassing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state were 鈥渉alf-solutions鈥� that risk prolonging the conflict rather than solving it.
He said the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, were integral parts of the Palestinian territories that must be under 鈥渇ull Palestinian sovereignty and management.鈥�
On Tuesday, Lapid said Egypt should run the Gaza Strip for at least eight years after the war is over, in exchange for massive debt relief.
Egypt has repeatedly rejected proposals for the Gaza Strip鈥檚 2.4 million Palestinian inhabitants to be relocated, calling such mass displacement a 鈥渞ed line.鈥�
It led diplomatic efforts this month against a plan floated by President Donald Trump for the Unmited States to 鈥渢ake over鈥� and 鈥渙wn鈥� the war-battered enclave after its inhabitants have been relocated to Egypt or Jordan.