by Joel Pollak at Breitbart
President Donald Trump shocked the world Tuesday by unveiling a proposal to take over Gaza as a U.S. territory, after moving most of its inhabitants elsewhere.
The idea drew cautious support from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was standing beside President Trump at a press conference in the East Room of the White House. But it also drew immediate opposition and criticism. Here are arguments for the proposal — and some questions.
Arguments in favor:
- There is no way to solve the strategic problem Gaza poses. Gaza clearly poses a threat to Israel. It has also been a major challenge for the two-state solution. In theory, a Palestinian state could be non-contiguous, with the West Bank connected to Gaza via transportation infrastructure. But Gaza is also culturally different from the West Bank. And with a growing population in a small area, it has constant humanitarian problems.
- Gaza has been so thoroughly destroyed by war that it is essentially uninhabitable. This is the argument that President Trump and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff used. A large percentage of the buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. The Hamas terror tunnels have also undermined the foundations and the utilities. Reconstruction, with 2 million people still living in the area, will take decades to complete.
- The 20-year experiment in Palestinian governance of Gaza has been a miserable failure. Israel pulled out of Gaza completely in 2005. Palestinians responded by firing rockets at Israel, electing Hamas, and launching terror attacks, murdering thousands of Israelis, mostly civilians. Hamas still has an ideological hold on the local population, making future self-governance a risky proposition, and making war almost inevitable.
- U.S. ownership of Gaza could be a massive strategic asset. The U.S. could turn Gaza into a thriving free trade zone, the so-called “Singapore of the Middle East” that Gaza could have, but never did, become after the Israeli disengagement of 2005. The U.S. could even turn Gaza into a new military base on the Mediterranean, lessening its dependence on Arab nations such as Qatar, which has in the past funded and sheltered Hamas.
- A prosperous, coastal Gaza could be an economic engine for the region. Remove terror and poverty from Gaza, and you have a prime location, with warm (albeit humid) weather, excellent fishing, and a strategic location between Cairo and Jerusalem (and beyond). There really is no limit to the prosperity — and the beach resorts — that could result. It could be another Dubai, but on the Mediterranean. A blessing, instead of a curse.
Questions:…
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