A foundational proposal for a collaborative council bringing together Palestinian actors, international donors, and civil society to manage Gaza's reconstruction with transparency and accountability — insulated from political division and ensuring genuine local ownership of the process.
Key finding: Gaza's reconstruction is estimated at more than $50 billion over ten years — a figure that necessitates a multilateral governance mechanism to ensure effectiveness.
Reconstruction experiences in post-conflict zones show that the absence of a multilateral governance framework leads to fragmented efforts and waste. This idea adapts successful models to the Palestinian context.
Recommendations
Form a founding advisory council with representatives from Palestinian factions, civil society, international donors — appointed within 90 days of the cessation of hostilities.
Issue a founding charter defining the Council's mandate, decision-making process, and dispute-resolution procedures.
Establish an independent audit unit reporting publicly at least quarterly, with authority to suspend any project under suspected corruption.
Separate reconstruction funding from emergency humanitarian aid with a prohibition on transfers between the two without Council approval.
Adopt 'build back better' with integrated climate resilience requirements in every infrastructure project.
Link funding disbursements to measurable performance indicators including local employment ratios and construction quality.
Establish an open, publicly accessible information system tracking each project from funding to implementation.
A vision for transitional governance arrangements in post-war Gaza grounded in technical competence, Palestinian legitimacy, and the reunification of the West Bank and Gaza under a single institutional framework that addresses humanitarian, security, and economic needs.
Key finding: Successful transitional governance requires sufficient legitimacy, technical competence, and international backing — before any rushed elections.
Discussing 'the day after' in Gaza demands political realism and adapted transitional models for the Palestinian reality.
Recommendations
Appoint an interim technocratic committee of 15-20 independent Palestinian figures by national and regional consensus within three months of cessation of hostilities.
Prepare a transitional governance charter (18-24 months) specifying authorities and steps toward elections.
Establish a direct community liaison unit to ensure rapid response and avoid a trust gap with the population.
Launch comprehensive national dialogue with international mediation — including Hamas, Fatah, and all factions — to craft a binding reconciliation agreement.
Coordinate with the UN, Egypt, Jordan, and key Arab states to secure regional support for transitional security arrangements.
Establish specialised courts for corruption and violations with guarantees of judicial independence.
A practical economic agenda to restart Gaza through rehabilitation of infrastructure and energy, private-sector support, connection to regional markets, and a shift from aid dependency toward sustainable, Palestinian-led growth.
Key finding: Sustainable economic revival in Gaza requires more than aid — it needs commercial access, local employment, and policies that reduce structural dependency.
Gaza's economy has suffered repeated shocks; any revival plan must link relief to productive development.
Recommendations
Develop a comprehensive 10-year economic plan for Gaza approved by a joint council of donors, the Palestinian Authority, and the Gazan private sector.
Establish a credit guarantee fund for SMEs with a capital base of no less than $500 million.
Revive access to Ashdod port or open the proposed Gaza seaport under international supervision within the first year of ceasefire.
Offer tax incentives and legal guarantees to Palestinian diaspora investors with a dedicated 'Diaspora Investment Office'.
Launch a financial and digital literacy programme targeting 100,000 young Gazans in 3 years.
Impose local content requirements (minimum 30%) in reconstruction contracts to employ Gazan engineers and workers.
Establish a Qualified Industrial Zone (QIZ) in Gaza providing preferential access to US and EU markets.
A strategic vision for establishing a civilian seaport for Gaza that breaks the maritime blockade imposed since 2006, opening economic horizons in trade, fisheries, and energy under a joint international-Palestinian oversight model that eliminates security pretexts.
Key finding: Secure maritime access could transform Gaza from a besieged economy into a regional trading platform — if linked to a clear security and development framework.
The seaport and maritime-access idea has been discussed for decades; the challenge is the political and security framework, not engineering alone.
Recommendations
Launch immediate EU and UN-mediated negotiations to open Gaza's maritime corridor as part of any ceasefire agreement.
Form a joint international-Palestinian interim operating authority for the port during the transitional phase with transparent security guarantees.
Establish a 'priority goods' list (food, medicine, construction equipment, solar energy) permitted for immediate import in a first phase.
Build an electronic cargo tracking system with direct international monitor access — to eliminate any security pretext.
Link port opening to reconstruction fund investments in infrastructure needed for full operation.
Launch a parallel negotiation track for expanding the maritime fishing zone with binding international guarantees.
A framework for transforming the EU-Palestine relationship from the donor-recipient model into a structural economic partnership — preferential EU market access, a joint investment fund, and technology transfer that reinforces Palestinian development independence.
Key finding: The EU provides substantial support to Palestine — but a genuine economic partnership could multiply impact through trade and investment.
The EU–Palestine relationship remains closer to aid than to an equal economic partnership.
Recommendations
Launch EU-Palestine Partnership Agreement (EPPA) negotiations under European Commission auspices with Palestinian chambers of commerce.
Amend EU rules of origin to guarantee full trade access for Palestinian goods, explicitly excluding settlement-produced goods.
Establish a joint EU-Palestine Investment Fund of no less than €1 billion, focused on infrastructure and solar energy.
Open European higher education and research programmes (Horizon Europe, Erasmus) to Palestinian students and researchers.
Create a trade dispute settlement mechanism enabling Palestinian exporters to challenge restrictions on their goods.
Link EU economic incentives to a clear pathway toward Palestinian statehood with a binding timeline.