The Gaza Riviera: It’s a ruse, it’s a shmooze, no special news

It’s out of a very well-worn and proven playbook. Remember the story of the family who ask the rabbi what they should do because the house is so small, the family so large, it’s impossible to live like that? He tells them to bring their goat into their small house. It gets worse. Again they ask, what should we do? He says bring the chickens into the house. And so on and so forth until the house is full of goats and chickens and screechings and smells. They ask the rabbi, what should we do now? He simply tells them to remove all the animals. They do. And they lived happily ever after. 

Gaza 2022 before the war. (Reuters)

However the idea comes with some baggage. The “solution” is of course, is Trump’s “Gaza Riviera” which he suggests can be done by mass emigration of the Gazans to Arab countries in the Middle East. Thereafter the hotels of the century, so to speak, would arise out of the ruins on a spectacular Mediterranean coastline. Gaza would be rebuilt and restored as a gorgeous coastal city. A hotel riviera would rise up out of the ashes overlooking the blue serene Mediterranean.

Mass emigration of Gazans to neighboring countries as he suggests, such as to Egypt, Jordan and other Arab neighboring states is of course not a viable option. The reasons are obvious yet need to be stated. Firstly, if done by force, it is against international law and is known commonly as ethnic cleansing. However, even if some kind of alternative “emigration” from Gaza was on the table, the surrounding Arab states such as Egypt, Jordan and others cannot and will not allow a population that comes with a deep jihadist culture imbued by Hamas and Iran, into their countries. Both Egypt and Jordan have issues that threaten stability in this respect. Egypt has a substantial Muslim Brotherhood presence. The last thing Egypt needs is a population imbued with Hamas jihadism. Jordan has absorbed vast numbers of Palestinian refugees over the decades — they too fear for the stability of their vulnerable kingdom. 

The real estate mogul from New York was nurtured and imbibed with these tricks of manipulation and persuasion – lets not forget this. Shoving in the “goat” as we say in Hebrew, and then removing it to the delight of the negotiating counterpart, is a well worn trick – and the thing is, often the other side doesn’t see it coming and when it’s all over, simply forgets it all. Such was the case with the Abraham Accords. The “goat”, so to speak, in 2020 was Netanyahu’s government intention of annexing the West Bank. Finally the revocation of this step, opened the way to full diplomatic ties with the Emirates. This time, Trump’s suggested goat is mass deportation of Gazans to neighboring Arab states…the world is up in arms. He then retracts, the goat is removed. Gazans remain in Gaza. Maybe they’ll actually build his hotels in spite of it all? And at a very low price!

It’s important to note that the bizarre idea of the emptying Gaza residents to somewhere else, strikes at the heart of all the Arab states around the world. And while we may not fully internalize this, the core issue is an ideological one, as Palestinian rights to full self determination evoke strong feelings of Arab and Muslim sympathies around the globe. 

The only way around this conundrum, ultimately, is on the one hand, blunting the jihadist ideology coming out of Iran and neighboring countries and on the other, an evolving Palestinian leadership that seeks solutions backed by a path endorsed by the people and enabled both legislatively and effectively by rule of law. It also involves a new Israeli leadership that can see beyond the present. Were this to come about, an entirely new page of history can begin its course. And while Israel has a role to play here, ultimately a strong message coming out of fresh Palestinian thinking and leadership towards peace and compromise is vital to providing the key to change – we Israelis cannot create it, however we can create conditions for an opening.

The “Gaza Riviera” as a concept, both for business, security and a way towards change is not impossible. It could provide huge employment opportunities and a fair amount of wealth for the population however the way forward lies in conceptual and political change. That is something that, with respect, neither Trump nor Netanyahu can do at this time, unless…how about starting with a goat?