SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Israel has stopped the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip. The move comes amid fragile negotiations after the first of a planned three-phase ceasefire expired Saturday. Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there will be, quote, "additional consequences" if Hamas does not agree to a temporary extension by releasing more hostages. But in a statement today, Hamas accused Israel of evading the initial framework of the ceasefire plan. At the center of this back and forth is Egypt where mediators met this past week to hammer out this new phase. And with us to explain what is going on behind the scenes is NPR's Aya Batrawy. Hello.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Hi.
DETROW: So you spent time in Cairo this past week talking to officials. Tell us what you have learned about Egypt's role in all of this.
BATRAWY: Well, Egypt is in a unique position. It was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel nearly 46 years ago, and that was after it had fought wars with Israel. So Egypt has decades of experience talking to, mediating, negotiating with Israel, and it also talks directly with Hamas and other Palestinian factions. Second, Egypt directly borders Gaza and Israel, so it has a stake in what happens there, and it's impacted by the instability around it. Another key factor here, Scott, is that Egypt has the knowledge, the manpower, the experience and the minds to come up with ideas and strategies that the Arab states can get behind. And Egypt has traditionally done this, and it's doing so now even, as we're seeing with its mediation in the ceasefire in Gaza.
DETROW: One of the biggest developments since this initial deal went to place is President Trump coming into office and then saying that he wants to see Gaza's 2 million Palestinians permanently relocated to countries like Egypt and Jordan. He wants to turn Gaza into a beachfront real estate project. How concerned are Egyptians about all of that?
BATRAWY: Everyone I spoke to in Egypt says this would be deeply destabilizing. They say it's a bad idea, basically. Any displacement of Palestinians, whether forced or voluntary, into Egypt is a red line for Egypt. It's a national security breach. I spoke with Nabil Fahmy. He was Egypt's ambassador to the U.S., and he served as foreign minister of Egypt. He tells me about another concern Egypt has.
NABIL FAHMY: The idea that, well, Israel is strong enough today with Western support, and so they can push them into Jordan or push them into Egypt is a nonstarter for us. It would also, frankly, very seriously impinge on our peace agreement.
BATRAWY: So basically what Fahmy is saying here is that if Israel believes it's strong enough to push people off the land, what's to stop them from doing so into the Sinai Peninsula or Egypt? So that's why Egypt is also building up its defenses in this territory now as a precaution. So again, the view here is that Trump's plan could draw Egypt into a direct conflict with Israel, upending the peace accords and security in the region.
DETROW: So has Egypt offered an alternative plan, though?
BATRAWY: Yeah. I mean, it has actually several plans along several tracks. The first is basic reconstruction. You have tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza, more than 90% of homes damaged or destroyed. Basic infrastructure there needs to be rebuilt. So this plan looks at - how do you repurpose the rubble? How do you bring in temporary homes for Palestinians to live in and other technical details? And a copy obtained by NPR for one of Egypt's plans under reviews estimates that construction could cost 50- to $80 billion. Now, this multiphased (ph) plan that Egypt is drafting will be presented to leaders of Arab League states converging in Cairo on Tuesday, and I'm told by diplomats in the meeting that Arab states will unite around Egypt's reconstruction plans for Gaza with Palestinians staying on the land. That part is key.
Now, other plans Egypt is drafting look at broader issues of governance, like a temporary Palestinian authority to administer Gaza that does not include Hamas. Police in Gaza would be retrained to provide security, and a reformed Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank at the moment, could come in and then also govern Gaza at some point down the line.
DETROW: You would need so much international cooperation, though, the Gulf Arab states, the U.S., Israel. How does Egypt get these plans off the ground?
BATRAWY: Exactly. This is really difficult stuff. But Egypt says it has to keep doing this. It has to keep working and formulating these ideas because there's no alternative to peace, and they say that peace can only be achieved if you establish a Palestinian state. So all the plans now being drafted in Cairo are seen as a starting point for what could be eventually, down the line, an actual Palestinian-Israeli peace process. And I met with Abdel Monem Said Aly. He heads the advisory board of the Regional Center for Security Studies in Cairo, and he says Egypt is taking the lead in formulating these ideas for a way out of the crisis.
ABDEL MONEM SAID ALY: We are builders. I mean, Egyptians are builders from the pyramids until now. We need to have a plan of our own, not waiting for Mr. Trump to do it.
BATRAWY: So in other words, he says it's like this - there's a fire in Egypt's neighborhood, and Egyptians have to work to try to put it out, so it doesn't spread. And so Egypt's working with other Arab states like Saudi Arabia. And this Arab League summit in Cairo on Tuesday is basically the Arab states saying that they can come up with solutions and - on their own and maybe even a pathway for peace.
DETROW: That is NPR's Aya Batrawy with a reporting from Cairo. Thanks for bringing it to us.
BATRAWY: Thanks, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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