Egypt has announced calls for $53 billion in funding to back a plan that would rebuild the Gaza Strip in six years – without displacing the Palestinians who live there. The plan includes construction of a harbor, a technology hub, beach hotels, an airport and other development.
Egypt's proposal has been endorsed by Hamas and spurned by the United States and Israel, the latter saying Trump’s plan offers a more viable solution for Gaza’s future – beginning with temporary resettling of the Palestinians into neighboring countries to ensure stability and security.
The Palestinians are the sticking point. Trump’s plan called for development on a grander scale that would make Gaza the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Critics from the Left scoffed at the notion.
Missing the point
“So many people have criticized [Trump's proposal] from the perspective of international law because part of the plan involves resettling the current population of Gaza,” Eugene Kontorovich, a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said on Washington Watch Thursday.
But the critics, he continued, are missing a key point – and Trump’s plan is on solid legal ground.
Egypt – which borders Gaza – Jordan, Saudia Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Turkey are among the nations that have said they will not accept the Palestinians. The kicker here is that Gaza is not a free society.
“What people need to understand is that the people in Gaza, the Arabs in Gaza, are actually being held prisoner there,” Kontorovich told show host Tony Perkins. “They're not allowed to leave. They're not allowed to leave by Hamas on the inside and Egypt on the outside. The entire area is one big human shield for Hamas.”
That in itself leaves Egypt in violation of international law, Kontorovich explained. “First of all, Hamas is coercing people to stay. Egypt has an obligation, under refugee law, to take people who are fleeing,” he said.
Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, did not try to use his influence and convince Egypt – the second-largest recipient of foreign aid from the U.S. – to take in the Palestinians. The U.S. has provided roughly $85 billion in foreign aid to Egypt since 1946, primarily for military and strategic initiatives, according to The Borgen Project.
Instead, Biden hoped to manipulate Gaza for his two-state solution dream for Israel and create a separate home for the Palestinians, according to Kontorovich.
“It's almost like an ideology, a mission. They don't want anything that could undermine a Palestinian state, even if they have to keep the Palestinians prisoner to do it,” he said. “He should have treated the U.S. southern border like he treated the Gaza border.”
Surveys prior to the war showed that roughly 40% of Gazans wanted to leave, Kontorovich said.
“Now that would be much more, but, of course, that would remove one of the big impetuses for forcing Israel to allow the creation of a Palestinian state. Instead, the world has created a North Korea in Gaza, an iron curtain.”
Kontorovich contends Egypt fears “radicalized” Gazans within its borders.
The path for peace and stability
The first step for peace and stability would be to encourage Israel’s complete defeat of Hamas, Kontorovich said. Not only would that leave Hamas unable to threaten Isreal, it would be unable to intimidate and hold power over Palestinians in Gaza.
“They would be unable to coerce their own people,” Kontorovich added.
Then, current realities notwithstanding, Egypt – which Kontorovich says continues to receive billions in U.S. funding – should lose that money if they prevent Gazans from leaving the area.
“Why are they pointing their tanks at the fence to shoot Gazans who would want to leave, who would want to escape? Those tanks are being paid for by U.S. dollars," he offered. "We should not be paying them to keep Gazans in prison. We should tell them this $3 billion is going to disappear if they don't let the people in Gaza leave.”
