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

  • 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.” 


US makes plans to reopen embassy in Syria after 14 years

Updated 21 February 2026
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US makes plans to reopen embassy in Syria after 14 years

  • The administration has been considering re-opening the embassy since last year
  • Trump told reporters on Friday that Al-Sharaa was “doing a phenomenal job” as president

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has informed Congress that it intends to proceed with planning for a potential re-opening of the US Embassy in Damascus, Syria, which was shuttered in 2012 during the country’s civil war.
A notice to congressional committees earlier this month, which was obtained by The Associated Press, informed lawmakers of the State Department’s “intent to implement a phased approach to potentially resume embassy operations in Syria.”
The Feb. 10 notification said that spending on the plans would begin in 15 days, or next week, although there was no timeline offered for when they would be complete or when US personnel might return to Damascus on a full-time basis.
The administration has been considering re-opening the embassy since last year, shortly after longtime strongman Bashar Assad was ousted in December 2024, and it has been a priority for President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack.
Barrack has pushed for a deep rapprochement with Syria and its new leadership under former rebel Ahmad Al-Sharaa and has successfully advocated for the lifting of US sanctions and a reintegration of Syria into the regional and international communities.
Trump told reporters on Friday that Al-Sharaa was “doing a phenomenal job” as president. “He’s a rough guy. He’s not a choir boy. A choir boy couldn’t do it,” Trump said. “But Syria’s coming together.”
Last May, Barrack visited Damascus and raised the US flag at the embassy compound, although the embassy was not yet re-opened.
The same day the congressional notification was sent, Barrack lauded Syria’s decision to participate in the coalition that is combating the Daesh militant group, even as the US military has withdrawn from a small, but important, base in the southeast and there remain significant issues between the government and the Kurdish minority.
“Regional solutions, shared responsibility. Syria’s participation in the D-Daesh Coalition meeting in Riyadh marks a new chapter in collective security,” Barrack said.
The embassy re-opening plans are classified and the State Department declined to comment on details beyond confirming that the congressional notification was sent.
However, the department has taken a similar “phased” approach in its plans to re-open the US Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, following the US military operation that ousted former President Nicolás Maduro in January, with the deployment of temporary staffers who would live in and work out of interim facilities.