With Hamas disarmament negotiations deadlocked and Israel taking further territory, plans for a grand Gaza reconstruction appear distant.
Seven months after President Donald Trump announced his peace plan for Gaza and more than four months since he convened his Board of Peace to implement and pay for it, the plan is stalled and expected donations to the fund it created are nonexistent.
Security and reconstruction of the destroyed territory seem a distant dream. The glitzy proposal of apartment complexes, high-tech industries and waterfront tourist resorts displayed by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and Gaza negotiator, at the board’s February meeting has been shelved. For now, the most ambitious proposal is to build temporary housing for tens of thousands of Palestinians once still-unrealized governance and security plans are in place.
Trump, who declared the Gaza war “over” when the 29-member board of world leaders gathered in Washington on Feb. 19 for its first and only meeting, pledged “we’re going to make Gaza an example of success and safety and unity.”
What Israel should do is invite investors in to start rebuilding in the parts of Gaza it controls. Put up nice buildings, decent facilities, all for the locals. Let the Arabs on Hamas' side of the border sit and stew as they watch their neighbours getting back to a regular life.
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