Palestinian PM pitches $65 billion five-year plan to rebuild Gaza

Palestinian PM pitches $65 billion five-year plan to rebuild Gaza
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa attends a meeting on the Gaza recovery and reconstruction plan in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. (Reuters)
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Updated 17 October 2025
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Palestinian PM pitches $65 billion five-year plan to rebuild Gaza

Palestinian PM pitches $65 billion five-year plan to rebuild Gaza
  • Mohammed Mustafa addresses UN heads of agency, and diplomatic heads of mission from his office in Ramallah

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Authority’s prime minister met on Thursday with UN and diplomatic officials to present a plan for Gaza’s reconstruction, despite uncertainties over his government’s role in the war-shattered territory’s future.

“I would like to believe that 12 months from now, the Palestinian Authority will be fully operational in Gaza,” Mohammed Mustafa said.

Mustafa said the Palestinian Authority had crafted a five-year plan for Gaza that would unfold over three phases and require $65 billion across 18 sectors, including housing, education, governance, and more.

The authority has not had a role in Gaza’s governance since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007, though it still provides some services in the territory.

The Gaza peace plan set out by US President Donald Trump does not rule out a Palestinian state. Also, it suggests allowing a role for the Palestinian Authority once it has completed a set of reforms.

The plan builds on what was agreed at a summit of Arab countries in Cairo in March 2025, and Mustafa said that “police training programs initiated with Egypt and Jordan are already underway.”

“Our vision is clear,” Mustafa told an assembly of Palestinian ministers, UN heads of agency, and diplomatic heads of mission from his office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

“Gaza shall be rebuilt as an open, connected and thriving part of the state of Palestine,” Mustafa said.

He also said that technical discussions were ongoing with the EU over “secure crossing operations, customs systems, and integrated policing units.”

The EU is one of the largest donors to the PA.

Above all, the post-war reconstruction plan aims to make way for a single Palestinian government.

The process will “reinforce the political and territorial unity between Gaza and the West Bank, and contribute to restoring a credible governance framework for the state of Palestine,” said Mustafa.

His remarks came as International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva urged all parties to continue moving toward sustained peace following a ceasefire in Gaza, saying it would benefit the entire region. 

Georgieva, speaking during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, said on Thursday she was relieved when the recent ceasefire was reached for the sake of all the people affected by the two-year war in the Palestinian enclave.

She said lowered tensions would be good news for the economies of Egypt and Jordan, where the IMF has programs, and Lebanon and Syria, which have asked for help and support from the global lender. 

“It is important because everybody concerned encourages this direction of sustaining a lasting peace, and yes, it would benefit the region,” she said. 

“There will be a peace dividend for everybody.” 


Hamas says fighters holed up in Rafah will not surrender

Hamas says fighters holed up in Rafah will not surrender
Updated 17 sec ago
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Hamas says fighters holed up in Rafah will not surrender

Hamas says fighters holed up in Rafah will not surrender
  • Egyptian mediators have proposed that, in exchange for safe passage, fighters still in Rafah surrender their arms to Egypt
  • Rafah has been the scene of the worst violence since the ceasefire took hold, with three Israeli soldiers killed
GAZA: Hamas fighters holed up in the Israeli-held Rafah area of Gaza will not surrender to Israel, the group’s armed wing said on Sunday, urging mediators to find a solution to a crisis that threatens the month-old ceasefire. Sources close to mediation efforts told Reuters on Thursday that fighters could surrender their arms in exchange for passage to other areas of the enclave under a proposal aimed at resolving the stalemate.
Egyptian mediators have proposed that, in exchange for safe passage, fighters still in Rafah surrender their arms to Egypt and give details of tunnels there so they can be destroyed, said one of the sources, an Egyptian security official.
Sunday’s statement from Al-Qassam Brigades held Israel responsible for engaging the fighters, who it said were defending themselves.
“The enemy must know that the concept of surrender and handing oneself over does not exist in the dictionary of the Al-Qassam Brigades,” the group said.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday that the proposed deal for about 200 fighters would be a test for a broader process to disarm Hamas forces across Gaza.
Al-Qassam Brigades did not comment directly on the continuing talks over the fighters in Rafah but implied that the crisis could affect the ceasefire.
“We place the mediators before their responsibilities, and they must find a solution to ensure the continuation of the ceasefire and prevent the enemy from using flimsy pretexts to violate it and exploit the situation to target innocent civilians in Gaza,” the group said.
Since the US-brokered ceasefire took effect in Gaza on October 10, the Rafah area has been the scene of at least two attacks on Israeli forces, which Israel has blamed on Hamas. The militant group has denied responsibility.
Rafah has been the scene of the worst violence since the ceasefire took hold, with three Israeli soldiers killed, prompting Israeli retaliation that killed dozens of Palestinians.
Separately, Al-Qassam Brigades said it will hand over the body of deceased Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin in Gaza on Sunday at 2 p.m. (1200 GMT).
Since the ceasefire, Hamas has handed over the bodies of 23 of 28 deceased hostages. Hamas has said the devastation in Gaza has made locating the bodies difficult. Israel accuses Hamas of stalling.
Israel has released to Gaza the bodies of 300 Palestinians, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Local health authorities said on Sunday that one man was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Bani Suhaila east of Khan Younis, south of the enclave. The Israeli military made no immediate comment.
Hamas-led militants seized 251 hostages in the October 7 attacks and killed another 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed nearly 69,000 Palestinians, health officials in the enclave say.