Israeli opposition leader: Egypt should run Gaza for 8 years

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said Tuesday that Egypt should run the Gaza Strip for at least eight years once the war is over, in exchange for massive debt relief.

"The solution is Egypt will take responsibility for the management of the Gaza Strip for eight years with an option to extend to 15 years," he told the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) think tank in Washington.

"At the same time, its foreign external debt will be paid off by the international community and regional allies," Lapid, a former Israeli prime minister, continued.

Egypt would lead a "peace force" of the Gulf states and the international community "for the management and rebuilding of Gaza," he said.

"During that period, the conditions for self-governance in Gaza will be created, and the process of the total demilitarization of Gaza will be completed," he said of the region, currently controlled by Palestinian group Hamas.