Arab leaders' Gaza plan echoes Israeli design: Forensic Architecture
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The plan for Gaza's reconstruction submitted by Arab leaders could see Gaza becoming far easier to monitor and raid by "Israel", fitting into the pattern of destruction sowed by the Israeli occupation.
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People live in tents amid the destruction of the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Feb. 16, 2025 (AP)
Forensic Architecture, a research group specializing in human rights investigations, has raised concerns over a Gaza reconstruction plan presented by Arab leaders at the March 4 summit, arguing that it aligns with the Israeli occupation's systematic destruction of the blockaded strip.
The plan, which has gained support from the European Council, incorporates a ‘buffer zone,’ security corridors, and raid routes—key elements that fit in perfectly to the destruction inflicted upon Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces. That can be seen in southern, central, and northern Gaza, as well as the entire border with the occupied Palestinian territories, and the several corridors created by raising vast residential areas.
The Egyptian-proposed master plan consists of three primary components:
Buffer zone
Since October 2023, the Israeli occupation demolished all structures within 1,000 to 1,500 meters of the Gaza border, targeting Palestinians who enter the area. The new reconstruction plan integrates this buffer zone into its design, effectively endorsing the erasure of historically and politically significant neighborhoods such as Jabalia and Shujaiyya.
The areas in question are being rezoned for agricultural, investment, and industrial purposes, further entrenching Israeli-imposed demographic and territorial changes.
The Egyptian master plan consists of three parts.
— Forensic Architecture (@ForensicArchi) March 10, 2025
1. Buffer Zone: Since October 2023, Israel has destroyed all structures within 1,000-1,500 metres of the Gaza perimeter fence and targeted Palestinians who entered this zone. The Egyptian plan integrates the buffer zone into its… pic.twitter.com/axmDAA3UyZ
Security corridors
The proposal incorporates the six-kilometer-wide Israeli military barrier along the Gaza valley and the expanded buffer zone along Gaza’s border with Egypt, solidifying the de facto division of the Palestinian territory.
2. Security corridors: Since October 2023, Israel constructed a six-kilometre-wide impenetrable barrier along Wadi Gaza and expanded the buffer zone along the border with Egypt. The Egyptian master plan incorporates this de facto reality. pic.twitter.com/73TCmMTdV3
— Forensic Architecture (@ForensicArchi) March 10, 2025
Raid routes
Over the past 17 months, Forensic Architecture has identified 13 Israeli military raid routes extending from bases east of the Gaza perimeter fence into the Strip. The Egyptian plan includes provisions to expand these routes to the sea, potentially allowing the Israeli regime to bisect Gaza at will and conduct further incursions.
3. Raid Routes: Over the last 17 months, we identified 13 raid routes created by the Israeli military, extending from Israeli bases east of the Gaza perimeter fence into the Gaza strip. The Egyptian master plan includes provisions for expanding these routes all the way to the… pic.twitter.com/iR1AXNYpFw
— Forensic Architecture (@ForensicArchi) March 10, 2025
Forensic Architecture warned that architecture and urban planning have long been used as tools for population control and counterinsurgency.
The group highlighted that the Israeli occupation has historically demolished Palestinian refugee camps and neighborhoods, whose intricate layout provided defensive advantages against superior military technology. By contrast, the proposed reconstruction plan introduces modern housing blocks that can be more easily surveilled and raided.
The findings have sparked renewed criticism over international responses to Gaza’s post-war reconstruction, with growing concerns that the proposed master plan could serve as a continuation of Israeli military objectives rather than a step toward Palestinian sovereignty.
Egypt unveils Gaza reconstruction plan
On Tuesday, Egypt's Al-Qahera Al-Ikhbariya channel published Egypt’s plan for rebuilding Gaza, which will be presented to Arab leaders at the emergency summit hosted in Cairo on Tuesday.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty previously stated that the plan was designed to ensure the Palestinian people's dignity and rights, and would be presented on March 4.
According to Abdelatty, Egypt’s alternative reconstruction plan will not be solely Egyptian or Arab but will include international support and funding to ensure its effective implementation.
"We will hold intensive talks with major donor countries once the plan is adopted at the upcoming Arab Summit," he stated during a press conference with European Union Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica.
The plan includes the formation of a Gaza Administration Committee to oversee the governance of the territory during a six-month transitional period. This committee will be independent, composed of non-partisan technocrats, and will operate under the Palestinian government.
According to the plan, the committee will be established throughout the current phase and pave the way for the full return of the administration, which would manage the next phase under Palestinian decision-making.
