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Donald Trump said Gaza can be rebuilt into one of the most beautiful places in the world.
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There is still no end in sight to the war between Israel and Gaza, which has been going on for a year now.
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Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner previously suggested that Israel should move civilians out of Gaza during reconstruction.
Former President Donald Trump says the Palestinian people have not made good use of their ocean views and that if Gaza is rebuilt properly it could become “one of the best places in the world.”
“I’ve been saying it for years, when I’ve been there and it’s rough, it’s a rough place before all the attacks and back and forth, what’s happened over the last few years. I said, ‘Wow, look at this.’ I mean, they have the back of a plant looking out at the ocean, you know,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday. ‘That’s right, there was no ocean in that regard. They never abused it. You know, as a developer, this could be the most beautiful place: the weather, the water, everything, the climate.”
Hewitt had asked Trump to talk about Gaza as a developer and whether it could be built into a destination that rivals a country like Monaco, the beautiful state on the coast of the Mediterranean.
Trump spoke about the future of Gaza on the first anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attacks in which Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people in Israel. Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion of Gaza. About 42,000 people have been killed in Gaza.
The former president is not the only one in his family who has thoughts about the future of Gaza. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former top White House official, previously said Israel should expel civilians from the area while it rebuilds Gaza.
“Gaza’s waterfront real estate could be very valuable if people focused on building livelihoods,” Kushner told a Harvard-affiliated program in February. “If you think about all the money that went into this tunnel network and all the munitions, if that would have gone into education or innovation, what could have been done?”
President Joe Biden and other world leaders have tried to pressure the two sides to agree to a ceasefire, but diplomacy has so far failed to end the conflict. Ahead of the anniversary, Israel stepped up attacks on Lebanon in the wake of an Iranian missile attack. Trump has claimed the conflict would never have happened on his watch, but has not provided many details on how he might bring about an end to the war.
Even as the conflict continues, international voices have sought to chart a path forward for Gaza’s future. Last December, a mix of consultants and other leaders met in London to propose future potential developments for the area, including a soccer stadium, The New York Times reported.
Part of the problem is that it remains uncertain who will control the area. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly opposed the creation of an independent Palestinian state and has argued that Israel should maintain a military presence in Gaza to prevent Hamas from launching future attacks.
Gazans likely have many more practical considerations than building oceanfront property. Even before the current conflict, more than half of the population lived in poverty. A UN official said in May that reconstruction could cost $50 billion. Experts told Bloomberg that costs could reach $80 billion, making it clear that when the conflict ends, Gaza will need a post-war plan similar to the scope of the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after World War II.
Read the original article on Business Insider
