President Donald Trump has outlined an extraordinary new plan for Gaza in which the United States will take over the strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East” while the Palestinian population is moved to neighbouring countries. The Mail has more.
It is the latest evolution in his plan for rebuilding a territory devastated by Israeli bombardment.
His words will sow fear in the Palestinian population but Trump insisted it was time for a new way of thinking and promised to build “the Riviera of the Middle East.” “The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” he said at a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site… level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings.”
Trump, a property developer who sees the world in terms of deals, has long talked up Gaza’s coastal location and pleasant climate as a perfect holiday vacation.
In his vision, US reconstruction would create thousands of jobs and spare Palestinians the pain and expense of rebuilding once again.
When a reporter asked if that might involve military force, Trump answered: “If it’s necessary.”
And when asked who would live there, he answered: “I envision world people living there. The world’s people.
“I think you’ll make that into an international, unbelievable place.”
He claimed his plans were based on humanitarian ideals and backing at the highest levels.
Yet the proposal to move out Gaza’s Palestinian two-million population will be seen as a call for ‘ethnic cleansing’ by opponents.
Control of the territory has been one of the key flashpoints in the Arab-Israeli conflict, triggering waves of violence and spreading instability through the region for decades.
At the moment, Hamas controls the territory and holds hostages, while a shaky ceasefire endures.
Netanyahu, who faces the threat of international prosecution and weakening support at home, could not help but beam as the President outlined his latest proposal. He praised Trump for his radical thinking.
And he said it was worth paying attention to Trump’s latest idea for a “different future” for a patch of land riven by terrorism.
“You see things others refuse to see,” he said. “You say things others refuse to say.
“And after the jaws drop people scratch their heads and they say, you know, he’s right.”
Worth reading in full.
Jake Wallis Simons says that Trump’s plan to ‘Make Gaza Great Again’ could really work:
Trump spoke of creating a “Riviera of the Middle East” and the tragedy of this is that the Palestinians could have done that for themselves. Gaza lies just 40 miles from Tel Aviv, the most liberal, innovative and wealthiest city in the region. If its citizens had not elected Hamas in 2006, and had chosen instead a path to peace, the Strip would be thriving today, with its extensive beaches and easy access to Israeli technology and support. But they selected the path of jihad and this is where it has left them. Those of the Biden-Obama-Clinton school may insist on repeating the same formula, perhaps with some minor tweaks; but as I said, their children do not have to live with the consequences. …
At long last, the Middle East has been presented with a bold plan and a bold vision that speaks to the needs of ordinary people rather than the corrupt ideologues who so shamefully lead them and their liberal cheerleaders in the democracies.
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