Israeli opposition politician wants Egypt to rule Gaza for years

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has suggested the Gaza Strip could be ruled and rebuilt by neighboring Egypt. In exchange, he said, Gulf Arab countries and the international community would help Egypt with its spiraling economic crisis by paying off billions of dollars in foreign debt.

Lapid said Egypt could lead a “peace force” backed from regional allies that would govern a demilitarized Gaza for eight years, possibly as long as 15 years.

“During that period, the conditions for self-governance in Gaza will be created,” Lapid said, speaking Tuesday at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a conservative think tank.

There was no immediate comment from Egypt, which alongside other Arab states has sought to link any postwar plan for Gaza to progress toward the establishment of a Palestinian state — a nonstarter for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Lapid, a fierce critic of Netanyahu, has voiced support for a two-state solution in the past.