Talat Khalil, coordinator of the Civil Democratic Movement and a member of the Conservative Party\u2019s presidential council, tells Zawia3 that the more fundamental question is why Gaza\u2019s reconstruction is being assigned to Egypt. Answering it, he says, requires understanding conditions in the territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are talking about an area of continuing military operations, full of mines and remnants of war,\u201d he says. In his assessment, these dangers would deter international construction companies regardless of the financial offers available. Insurance premiums for projects in unstable security environments could make reconstruction prohibitively expensive.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo Western or European company will risk entering Gaza knowing it could suffer enormous human and material losses,\u201d Khalil argues. He sees those risks as a major obstacle to reconstruction under the prevailing conditions.<\/p>\n
In his view, this helps explain why Egypt and China are emerging as principal participants. He argues that they approach the issue of potential human losses differently from Western companies. The partnership between El Argani Group and a Chinese company that has undertaken major projects in Egypt\u2019s New Administrative Capital, announced in the presence of the Egyptian housing minister, therefore carries wider significance.<\/p>\n
Khalil maintains that major American and European companies would find the insurance costs alone sufficient to undermine a project\u2019s commercial viability in an active war zone. These are his assessments of the risks and incentives facing potential contractors.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe cannot continue in a cycle of destruction and reconstruction without real guarantees that the same thing will not happen again. What guarantees that what is rebuilt will not be destroyed months or years later?\u201d \u2014 Talat Khalil<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
For Khalil, reconstruction must be linked to a clear political framework rather than treated solely as a commercial or economic operation. The essential guarantee, he says, is a just and lasting political settlement that establishes an independent Palestinian state in accordance with United Nations resolutions and prevents renewed displacement, killing and destruction.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot accept a situation in which Israel, America and Europe continue supporting military operations that destroy the entire territory, followed by talk of reconstruction without political guarantees,\u201d he says. There must be a clear international commitment against renewed destruction; otherwise, reconstruction risks becoming only a temporary interval before another round of bombardment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not simply a humanitarian crisis. It is first and foremost a political issue,\u201d Khalil adds. Without a clear political framework before rebuilding starts, he warns, the same catastrophe could recur within a few years.<\/p>\n
Egypt has substantial leverage, he argues, and should use it to ensure that reconstruction follows a clear political vision. The central issue is not whether an Egyptian, Chinese or foreign company undertakes the work. It concerns Palestinians\u2019 future and the need for lasting solutions that prevent further destruction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not just about constructing new buildings. It is a question of existence and rights that must be resolved politically before any construction work is discussed,\u201d he says. Without that, the billions spent on rebuilding could ultimately be wasted.<\/p>\n
From controversy over Rafah crossing fees to ambitions for rebuilding Gaza, Ibrahim El Argani and his business group remain significant actors in the region\u2019s reconstruction landscape. As their interests expand from Libya to China, a central question persists: does this influence represent a strategic partnership for Egypt, or an investment in Palestinian suffering for enormous financial gain? Greater transparency over how projects are awarded and carried out is essential to prevent crises from becoming opportunities for profiteering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
El Argani Group is seeking a major role in rebuilding Gaza and Libya. Its ambitions raise questions about crossing fees, transparency and the political guarantees needed for lasting reconstruction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409,410],"tags":[],"kateb":[710],"class_list":["post-16972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics-en","category-investigations-en","kateb-zawia3-com"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/\u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u062c\u0627\u0646\u064a-\u063a\u0632\u0629.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16972"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16973,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16972\/revisions\/16973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16972"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=16972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}