Peloni: Such delusional, nonsesnical rhetoric is what has kept the conflict in Middle East increasingly growing since well before the US decided to take advantage of the conflict beginning back more than 5 decades ago. The same Peace size peg being screwed into the same terror-laden sized hole. The outcome will not be peace but war, even as the short term profits flow freely amid the punch drunk naivete which seems all too naive to be sincere.
New Gaza chief announces Rafah crossing will open next week, Israel doesn’t confirm
The United States presented new plans for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, as President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace (BoP) was inaugurated with a signing ceremony by representatives of most of its founding nations at the sidelines of the Davos World Economic Forum.
The “master plan” for a new Gaza was presented by White House advisor and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who noted, “If Hamas does not demilitarize, that will be what holds back Gaza and the people of Gaza from achieving their aspiration.”
Kushner also addressed another major Israeli concern with the U.S.-led peace plan, telling people “criticizing Israel… or Israelis criticizing Turkey or Qatar – just calm down for 30 days.”
Israel has raised concerns that Turkey and Qatar may be included on the new executive board for Gaza, which would operate between the supervising BoP and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG).
The “master plan” for the reconstruction of Gaza, as Kushner described it, aims for “catastrophic success,” he emphasized. “Our goal here is peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. Everyone wants to live peacefully. Everyone wants to live with dignity.”
Regarding the “demilitarization principles,” Kushner’s presentation stated that heavy weapons would be immediately decommissioned, while personal arms would be handed over in areas where a new Palestinian police force “becomes capable of guaranteeing personal security.”
Those who disarm would be offered amnesty, reintegration, or safe passage, with the goal that only the new security forces are armed at the end of the Palestinian-led, “internationally verified” process.
In another potentially fraught point for Israel, the designated head of the technocratic NCAG, Dr. Ali Shaath, surprisingly announced in his speech that the Gaza border crossing, which Israel had said would remain closed until the return of the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, will be fully reopened next week.
“For Palestinians in Gaza, Rafah is more than a gate; it is a lifeline and symbol of opportunity. Opening Rafah signals that Gaza is no longer closed to the future and the world,” said Shaath, a former minister in the Palestinian Authority. The NCAG is intended to assume administrative control on the ground from Hamas.
This was later confirmed by Nickolay Mladenov, who is designated to serve as the BoP’s envoy to Gaza, who noted that “we are working with Israel and the National Committee for the administration of Gaza to expedite the search for the remaining Israeli hostage.”
An Israeli political source later briefed news outlets that a special effort is underway “to bring back the late Ran Gvili, exhausting all the information in our possession. The cabinet will discuss this issue, as well as the issue of opening the Rafah Crossing, at the beginning of the week.”
Kushner presented the plan for Gaza in a slideshow, with images of mock-ups showing new promenades and apartment towers in a glittering city on the sea, including a new seaport and an airport for Gaza.
Noting that “there is no Plan B,” Kushner, who has business interests in the Gulf countries, emphasized, “In the Middle East they build cities like this, you know, for two or three million people… in three years.”
The plan is to begin reconstruction, including the new airport, in the southern Rafah area and move northward in phases. Kushner said that contributions by donor countries would be announced at a conference in Washington in the upcoming weeks, setting a goal of $25 billion for investments to rebuild infrastructure and public service. “There’ll be amazing investment opportunities,” he added.
Kushner’s presentation followed the signing ceremony for the Board of Peace, whose authorities, Trump said, could spread “out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.”
Addressing the leaders of the 59 countries that he said had committed to join, Trump said, “You’re the most powerful people in the world.” On Thursday, representatives from 19 countries were present, including leaders from Qatar, UAE, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Morocco, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Argentina and Hungary.
However, no Israeli representative joined the ceremony, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly accepting the invitation a day earlier. According to an Israeli official who spoke to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu had little choice but to accept, despite Israel’s unusual criticism of the U.S., including Turkey and Qatar, in the executive board.
The official noted that Israel supports the BoP in principle but “wasn’t well-positioned” to push back on the inclusion of the two states seen as hostile to Israeli interests.
https://www.jns.org/families-of-oct-7-victims-call-to-stop-jerusalem-land-sale-to-palestinian-businessman/
President Trump’s master plan for Gaza is delusional because it denies the central doctrine of Islam, “There will be peace on Earth when all the world is Muslim.” Islam is not a religion like any other. Islam is a binary, sociopolitical, supremacist, totalitarian, expansionist, replacement ideology with a religious wing. It makes no difference whether Sunni or Shia, because they are different sides of the same Islamic doctrinal imperative. It makes no difference whether it is violent jihad or the “peace deals” of polite leaders, because they are different sides of the same Islamic ideological and religious imperative. Neither President Trump nor his self-serving envoys are going to change 1400 years of Islamic doctrinal commitment to establishing a worldwide Islamic caliphate.
President Trump’s shift from the wise counsel of Rubio/Hegseth to Kushner/Witkoff is not only delusional, it is a threat to the national security of the United States. First comes Saturday (Jews/Israel) then comes Sunday (Christians/USA). Hamas will never disarm, and any “peace deals” are taqiyya lies and hudna pauses. We are in a 21st-century religious war that will not be settled with hotels and skyscrapers. Kushner “demanding” that Hamas disarm is so laughably deluded that it would be a comedy routine if it were not so catastrophically dangerous. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth live in the factual world of objective reality. President Trump needs to return to their wise counsel, or the delusions of the “New Gaza” master plan will make Trump 47 the laughing stock of the Middle East instead of the strong horse who delivers peace through strength.
@lindagoudsmit
So well explained. I could not agree more.
Bibi prevented Pres. Herzog from being on stage with Trump during the Board of Peace signing ceremony. Good.
The Trump administration’s latest efforts to appease Hamas supporters Qatar and Turkey certainly bear no association with reality or common sense!
Israel is the only Western nation with boots on the ground in Gaza, and the only Western nation having a direct security interest there. Accordingly, Israel is the only stable Western nation that should be calling the shots in Gaza with the US playing only an advisory role to Israel!
They would probably have arrested Netanyahu on orders of the ICC or ICJ.
Of course, there’s lots wrong with this article but the next question is whether the Egyptians will open the Rafah crossing on their side or demand the same baksheesh as before.
This is a nightmare: President Trump allying himself and the US with ISIS in Syria as a puppet of Turkey, and massacring a long time US ally: the Kurds. President Trump and Kushner thinking the answer to psychopathic mass murderers is to assume they will give up their weapons and want to enjoy a luxury seaside resort that the mass murderers can plunder and turn into future weapons.
Are these people even thinking about the real world?
It’s as if all they can see is luxury buildings and profits, and they make the totally incorrect assumption that the Palestinians are going to love it.
In a way, it’s a kind of psychopathy to pal around with Sheikh al Thani, Al Julani, and Erdogan. These are men who have spent their lives arranging for the killing of infidels.
I think the first option for Americans and others who are capable of seeing reality, should be to make clear these ideas are not just unrealistic, but these ideas are going to lead to the killing of lots of people and should be canned. There isn’t any part of these plans that is remotely realistic.
People who cannot differentiate psychopathic mass murderers from model citizens should not be in a position to use the US to ally with mass murderers. They should not be in a position like Kushner is, and should not be in a position like Witkoff is and like Trump is.
I think Trump has done some very important and positive things, but his Middle East policy is delusional and dangerous as Peloni says.