UAE plans compound for Palestinians in Israeli-controlled south Gaza, map shows

By Alexander Cornwell

JERUSALEM, Feb 5 (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates has drafted plans to build a compound to house thousands of displaced Palestinians in a part of southern Gaza controlled by the Israeli army, according to maps and plans seen by Reuters, people briefed on the plans said.

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

Rafah, near the Egyptian border, is where reconstruction of Gaza is expected to begin under US President Donald Trump’s plan for lasting peace in the densely populated coastal enclave after two years of devastating war.

Donors have been reluctant to fund the plan, worried that disagreements over disarming Hamas militants could push the parties into full-scale conflict.

However, there are doubts about the political viability of the Emirati project, as most Palestinians may not live in Israeli-controlled territory while most civilians live in the Hamas-run areas of Gaza, diplomats said.

Trump’s plan would see the establishment of a US-led multinational mission to Gaza in southern Israel, where Emirati officials have shared details of plans to build temporary housing and provide basic services in Rafah, four diplomats briefed on the initiative said.

The map shows that housing in the UAE will sit near the “yellow line” agreed under the October ceasefire to separate Israeli- and Hamas-controlled areas.

In response to questions for this story, an Emirati official said the Gulf country is “committed to increasing humanitarian efforts to assist Palestinians in Gaza”, without confirming or denying plans to build a temporary housing site.

‘Suffocating Hamas’

A diplomat said the Israeli military was planning a large area along the Mediterranean coast towards Rafah for temporary housing projects similar to those planned by the UAE.

Diplomats said the Emirati initiative was similar to a US proposal to build temporary housing for Palestinians in the Israeli-controlled Gaza Strip. U.S. officials initially described their plans as “alternative secure communities” and more recently as “planned communities,” diplomats said.

A US official said the UAE was coordinating its accommodation initiative with Washington, the Peace Board, a new global body set up by President Donald Trump to resolve the conflict, and the US-backed Palestinian Authority for Gaza administration.

“We are impressed by the UAE’s efforts to bring a better life for Gazans in Gaza,” the official said.

U.S. officials hope that housing construction in Israeli-controlled areas could speed up Hamas’s disarmament, encourage Gazans to leave Hamas-controlled areas and deprive the Islamist group of its civilian population.

Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East expert at The Soufan Center, a US-based, security-focused think tank, said the “alternative secure communities” were gradually designed as a way to “suspend Hamas” but to be effective, they would have to be built on a large scale, housing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

“Just two housing projects won’t defeat Hamas. You need to do more to make an impact,” he said.

Doubt the numbers

The UAE, which established diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020 under Trump’s mediation, sees Hamas and other political Islamist groups as a threat to Middle East stability.

The four diplomats doubted whether Palestinians would move in large numbers to areas under Israeli control and questioned whether the proposals would risk a permanent partition of Gaza.

But unlike the US initiative, the Emiratis had identified a site where there were no homes before, diplomats said.

The Israeli army controls about 53% of Gaza, its southernmost area covering the city of Rafah. Hamas controls the rest of the territory, where Gaza’s nearly two million Palestinians live in overcrowded tent camps and the ruins of destroyed neighborhoods.

Foreign diplomats and aid workers say humanitarian aid and shelter should be directed to areas with high populations. About 20,000 Palestinians are believed to be living in the Gaza Strip, which is under Israeli military control, diplomats say.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Rami Ayub and Mark Heinrich)