Viva Las Gaza
By
Leonard Zwelling
Anyone who has had a conversation with me about current affairs or domestic politics in the past ten years knows that I think very little of Donald Trump. I believe all blog readers know this.
Anyone who has had a conversation with me about what to do about Gaza in the past year knows that I have advocated for turning the beautiful seaside site into a Las Vegas on the Mediterranean using Saudi money, American know-how, and Palestinian labor to clear the rubble and rebuild the new tourist destination. An airport would also be needed providing more jobs and more income. The Trump International Hotel and Golf Resort would not be far behind.
Well, it looks like The Donald and I have the same thoughts and for the same reasons—what else are you going to do with the entire area now that it has been pounded into rubble? And, as Mr. Trump has rightly said, nothing else has worked. My response is why the hell not?
I do not think that it is feasible to deport 2 million Palestinians out of Gaza given that none of the surrounding countries will take the people. Most of these countries can barely feed their own people and do not need two million more mouths to feed. Both Egypt when they controlled Gaza before 1967, and Jordan when they controlled the West Bank before 1967, had oversight of many Palestinians (Arabs born in or who can trace their family roots to the area that was the British Mandate of Palestine). Neither Egypt nor Jordan wants the Palestinians in Gaza.
A better idea would be to get temporary housing into one half of Gaza while clearing and building the other half. Then move all the people in the temporary housing back to the other half of Gaza in nice apartments while then rebuilding the remaining half.
In theory, some of the Gazans could go to the West Bank, but that too is crowded and ungoverned beyond what Israel imposes on Areas A, B, and C with C being populated by 700,000 settlers already. And the number of Israeli settlers is only growing.
In rebuilding Gaza, Mr. Trump would have what Hyman Roth thought he had in Cuba in 1959 in Godfather II. This time Trump and his friends in Silicon Valley and Riyadh will undoubtedly reap a profit while the Gazans could have permanent housing, permanent jobs, and peace.
Now would this require the United States to uproot Hamas from Gaza? My guess is that just the threat of 50,000 American troops would be enough to get them scurrying into their tunnels. That might require a serious military intervention to get them out permanently. This would not be easy and they cannot be sent to the West Bank either where they will quickly set up shop and raid Israel again.
Mr. Trump’s proposal is a bold one, but one that I back 100%.
I would also like to compliment Mr. Trump on having regular news conferences of substance.
He has not won me over yet. I am still suspect of many of his appointees (Tulsi Gabbard, RFK, Pete Hegseth). I am very concerned about the heavy hand of Elon Musk though he has certainly shone a light on the bloat in the government.
And I might add, at least Mr. Trump is doing something. Mr. Biden did nothing for over two years.
As this blog has said since the election, we are very skeptical, but willing to be proven wrong. As far as showgirls in Gaza City, when will Billie Eilish take up residence?
Now here’s the bad news. No other country in the world will back this plan except maybe Israel which has nothing to lose. Also, no one country even if it is Saudi Arabia can afford to rebuild Gaza.
Mr. Trump has to get major props for thinking outside the box and stirring the pot. However, when everyone comes back to Earth, they will see this plan, while enticing as not logical. Besides, the leaderless Palestinians don’t seem to want it.
Nonetheless, it was a heck of an idea.
