JERUSALEM

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid proposed Tuesday that Egypt assume administrative control of the Gaza Strip for up to 15 years in exchange for receiving relief for its more than $150 billion worth of foreign debt.

The plan would have Egypt take responsibility for managing the enclave for eight years, with the option to extend it to 15 years.

Neither Egypt nor the Palestinian Authority and resistance factions have responded to his proposal.

Lapid announced the plan during a speech at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington, DC and later posted it on X, according to Israel’s Maariv newspaper.

“I recently presented a plan in Washington for the day after the war in Gaza,” he wrote. “At the center of the plan: Egypt will assume responsibility for Gaza for (up to) 15 years, while at the same time its external debt of $155 billion will be canceled by the international community.”

“After nearly a year and a half of fighting, the world is surprised to discover that Hamas still controls Gaza,” he added.

Lapid blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for failing to establish “an effective administration in Gaza that would push Hamas out,” saying that Israel faces two major security problems along its southern border.

The first issue is that “the world needs a new solution for Gaza: Israel cannot agree to Hamas remaining in power, the Palestinian Authority is unable to run Gaza, Israeli occupation is undesirable, and a continued state of chaos is a serious security threat to Israel.”

The second issue, Lapid claimed, is “the Egyptian economy is on the verge of collapse and threatens the stability of Egypt and the entire Middle East: the external debt of $155 billion does not allow Egypt to rebuild its economy and strengthen its army.”

He proposed “one solution: Egypt will assume responsibility for managing the Gaza Strip for 15 years, while the external debt will be covered by the international community and its regional allies.”

For the past 18 years, Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, effectively turning it into an open-air prison. The recent genocide has displaced approximately 1.5 million of the enclave’s 2.4 million residents.

Lapid claimed that during the 15 years, “Gaza will be rebuilt and the conditions for self-government will be created. Egypt will be the central player and will oversee the reconstruction, which will further strengthen its economy.”

“This solution has a historical precedent,” he said.

“Egypt ruled Gaza in the past. This was done with the support of the Arab League, with the understanding that this was a temporary situation. The Egyptians held the Gaza Strip under protection on behalf of the Palestinians. This is what needs to happen again today.”

Egypt held the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades following Israel’s establishment in 1948, when Zionist militias seized Palestinian land and committed massacres that displaced hundreds of thousands.

Hamas has previously rejected any plans to disarm or be removed from Gaza, stating that the enclave’s future must be determined through a national Palestinian consensus.

Israel continues to occupy Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese territories, refusing to withdraw or recognize an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital within the pre-1967 borders.

A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement has been in place in Gaza since last month, pausing the Israeli war, which has killed nearly 48,350 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.