The United Arab Emirates has drafted plans to build a compound to house thousands of displaced Palestinians in a part of south Gaza under Israeli military control, according to a map seen by Reuters and people briefed on the plans.

The planning map shows where the “UAE Temporary Emirates Housing Complex” would be constructed near Rafah, once a city of a quarter million people but now almost completely destroyed and depopulated by Israeli forces.

An Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that the UAE has not made a final decision on whether to fund the pilot housing project in Rafah.

Rafah, near the Egypt border, is where reconstruction of Gaza is expected to start under US President Donald Trump’s plan for a durable peace in the densely populated coastal enclave after two years of devastating war. Donors have been reluctant to commit funds to the plan, worried that disagreements over disarming the Hamas terror group could lead the parties back to full-scale conflict.

However, there are doubts about the political viability of the Emirati project, as most Palestinians could balk at being housed in an Israeli-controlled zone while the vast majority of civilians live in Hamas-run areas of Gaza, diplomats said.

Trump’s plan saw the establishment of a US-led, multinational mission for Gaza based in southern Israel, where Emirati officials have shared details of their plans to build temporary housing and provide basic services in Rafah, four diplomats........

© The Times of Israel