Seth J. Frantzman
Jerusalem Post, Feb. 5, 2025
“… if you beat the grass by proposing such a radical policy, it’s possible some countries in the region may realize the US is serious and decide to approach the Gaza challenge with more candor.”
US President Donald Trump is pushing for a radical approach to the challenges in Gaza. Rather than tinker away at old solutions that haven’t worked, he is proposing that Gazans be resettled somewhere else and that Gaza be rebuilt in the long term.
This is different than reconstruction in the past, when Hamas ran Gaza and siphoned off the construction materials to build tunnels.
The Trump plan for Gaza is taking shape. It’s clear there will be pushback in the region, however, as Egypt and Jordan don’t want to take in hundreds of thousands of Gazans. Qatar and Turkey, two US allies, both have backed Hamas and won’t want to see it lose its Gaza real estate.
It’s not even clear if Israel will be completely on board with this plan, since its policy over the past decade and a half has come to accept Hamas rule in Gaza. Even during 15 months of war, the government never came up with a plan to remove Hamas from Gaza. …SOURCE