Palestinians must be given the chance to rebuild Gaza
Does US President Donald Trump have a point? To an extent, maybe. Gaza is a 'hellhole.' In fact, it has been a hellhole for years as a result of previous Israeli bombardments. Rebuilding Gaza will be some challenge. The UN estimates there is about 50 million tonnes of rubble, intermingled with an array of unexploded ordnance. Technically, it would be easier to empty Gaza temporarily.
The trouble is that this was not what Trump was suggesting. Trump wants a Palestinian-free Gaza to indulge his real estate dreams. He made it clear Palestinians would not be allowed to return — a violation of international law constituting the forced displacement of a civilian population. This plan exhibits no understanding of the historical Palestinian experience, whereby 70 percent of the Palestinian population became refugees between 1947 and 1949, hundreds of thousands were displaced again in 1967 and, during the last 16 months, 90 percent of the population of Gaza was again forcibly displaced. This was no great humanitarian proposal, as the White House tried to make out.
Palestinians have long demonstrated a determination not to be forcibly displaced yet again. It is their right to stay on the land. They show no signs of leaving it.
Anti-Palestinian groups argue that Palestinians in Gaza could leave voluntarily. There can be nothing voluntary about leaving in a situation where they have already been bombed and starved into near-oblivion.
This dream was not an off-the-cuff moment. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner made similar comments about cleaning up Gaza last year. Trump was shown ambitious plans for the Gaza riviera development that were devised by an economics professor at George Washington University, Joseph Pelzman.
Why can Palestinians not dream of their riviera on the Mediterranean in Gaza? Is this so outlandish?
Just as most of the world argued that any solution for the Syrian Arab Republic must be Syrian-led, any solution for Palestine has to be Palestinian-led. Gaza is for Palestinians and all designs on the future of the Strip must be devised by them, for them and with them. Pelzman's paper was decidedly not this and it reads as if it had been drafted by a committee of Israeli settler pogromists. It states that the administration of Gaza would be 'subcontracted to the selected investors and/or their representatives.' The education curriculum would be based on those from other states.
Gaza is for Palestinians and all designs on the future of the Strip must be devised by them, for them and with them
Chris Doyle
Arab states are hurriedly devising their own plans. This includes the state of Palestine. This is vital given the need to demonstrate that there is a workable alternative — and there certainly is — to the suggestions emanating from the White House.
The costs will be astronomic — the UN estimates about $50 billion. However, until a proper assessment is carried out, it is only educated guesswork.
No donor state will fund this, nor will private businesses invest unless there are cast-iron guarantees that Israel will not flatten Gaza again. Who would even dare to suggest that Israel pays compensation, let alone contribute to the reconstruction costs, as it should?
It should be understood that Gaza was not, as Trump described, a 'demolition site.' It has been bombarded into rubble as a deliberate Israeli strategy. Israel has a responsibility, though few suggest that Israel should offer temporary shelter to Palestinians with no homes.
Reconstruction requires the blockade to be lifted and the unimpeded entry of construction materials and equipment. The dual-use system Israel enforces has to be ditched, as it prevents the import of essential construction materials. The systematic Israeli destruction of the healthcare system means that hospitals need to be rebuilt. The Israeli-orchestrated scholasticide also saw the bombing of every single university site in Gaza, while 87 percent of schools have been damaged or destroyed. This means that the education system also needs to be rebuilt. The entire water, sanitation and power infrastructure has to be rebuilt. To encourage the return of proper economic life in Gaza, which has been throttled by decades of occupation and siege, it needs a port, an airport and safe passage to the West Bank, all of which were agreed to under the Oslo Accords.
The political system needs to be rebuilt too. It requires a Palestinian administration in Gaza that, first and foremost, has the support of Palestinians. It also has to attract the confidence of the international community. This is unlikely to be Hamas. So, who? A refreshed Palestinian political order is a medium- to long-term project for Palestinians, but a technocratic government would be a start.
Israel should not have a veto, nor should the US. If Israel wants security and not territory, then a thriving Gaza is definitely in its best interest.
Palestinians are capable of rebuilding Gaza themselves, if permitted, although genuine international assistance would be welcome. They have the skills, the motivation and the experience. But they cannot do this with the dead weight of the Israeli occupation blunting any endeavor.
• Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding in London. X: @Doylech
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