By Walter E. Block
President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza is simple: Banish all the Palestinians from that enclave. Rebuild what remains of it into an American Riviera on the Mediterranean. (Simple is not bad, at least not according to Occam’s mighty razor; if there are two explanations out there and one is more complex, the other is to be preferred).
As can be expected, this elegant and eminently morally justified proposal has come under a barrage of criticism.
For example, in the view of Al Jazeera: “Trump’s Gaza plan is unrealistic, unworkable, and dangerous”. States Reuters: “… world powers Russia, China and Germany, … said it would foster ‘new suffering and new hatred.’ Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia rejected the proposal outright.” According to BBC: “Trump’s Gaza plan won’t happen, but it will have (negative) consequences. Haaretz opines about “The Weird, Fraudulent and Immoral ‘Justifications’ for Trump’s Gaza Takeover Plan.” PBS offers “… a look at the serious obstacles Trump’s Gaza plan faces.”
What is the case, nevertheless, in favor of this blueprint? The overwhelmingly important consideration is that it would bring peace to the Middle East, a corner of the world greatly in need of that state of affairs. All too many people have been killed there in the last little while. The powder keg consists of the fact that the Palestinians cannot leave well enough alone. They had what was for most but not all intents and purposes a two state solution: Israel pulled out in 2005, and ever since 2007 Hamas was in complete charge of this territory. Had this terrorist organization not spent its efforts on continually attacking its neighbor to the east of it, all would have been well. With a bit of Israeli help, which most certainly would have been forthcoming, this small country could have become the Hong Kong of the Middle East. Alas, ‘twas not to be.
What are the arguments against Mr. Trump’s brilliant initiative?
The basic critique is that it would be unjustified to expel Gazans, holus bolus, from homes and gardens they have been occupying not for decades, but for centuries. Banishing them from their own real estate would be a violation of private property rights, one of the very foundations of a civilized order.
But there are difficulties with this objection. One problem is that they are not the rightful owners of this territory in the first place. The Jews were there first [1], and, according to Lockean homesteading theory, are the proper possessors of these lands. Evidence for this contention? The Second Temple of the Jews lies below the Al Aqsa Mosque. This is definitive proof that the Arabs were Johnies-come-lateleys. The argument against this is that the geographical location of these two houses of worship applies only, at most, to a few hundred yards of terrain in an area miles away from the present contention over terrain. Not so fast. Different countries have different hobbies. For Canada, it is hockey. The US? Football. As to Kenya, it is marathon running. Soccer is the be all and end all for Great Britain, and many European and South American countries.
What pray tell is the big hobby in Israel? It is archeology. Citizens of the Jewish state are forever digging up the ground, looking for who knows what. And guess what they invariably find? Archeological evidence (bones, pottery, etc.) pointing to distinctive ancient Jewish occupation of the Middle East, dating long before the Arabs arrived on the scene. Nor is this by any means limited to the neighborhood of the Temple Mount. It certainly includes what is now Gaza. These digs are everywhere in the area.
But let us suppose, arguendo, that the Palestinians are the rightful owners of every square inch of Gaza, including the lands that the Israeli government compelled its own citizens to vacate in 2005. Is there still a classical liberal free market case to be made in behalf of the Donald’s magnificent initiative? There is indeed.
Criminals should be punished for their crimes. If full justice were implemented, virtually all of these some two million Gazans would be in prison. They aided and abetted the murders of innocent Israelis, and not just on that day of infamy, October 7, 2023. They have been at their felonious behavior pretty much ever since 2007: regularly sending rockets and suicide bombers in eastward direction to commit murder and wreak havoc on innocent persons. It is an act of rachmunis, mercy, to allow them to escape their just deserts in jail by merely expelling them to Egypt or Jordon.
I have a friendly amendment to offer regarding Mr. Trump’s plan for Gaza. I think control over this enclave ought to be given to Israel, not to the US. On a pragmatic basis, US governance will not harm Israel under the present administration. But, suppose, God forbid, the next president is a clone of Joe Biden or Barack Obama. Then all bets would be off. He could be counted upon to invite back all the Palestinians to Gaza, and put them up in luxury hotels as do the Democrats for illegal immigrants. Then, we would be off to October 7, part II.
[1] Block, Walter E. and Alan Futerman. 2021. The Classical Liberal Case for Israel. With commentary by Benjamin Netanyahu. Springer Publishing Company
@dreuveni
No need to separate the children from their parents, nor to separate any member from the whole community of Gaza. Provide them free housing in Jordan, make this new address the locality where their welfare checks will be sent, where they can apply for their free healthcare, and whatever other amenities which they are not entitled to receive, but which they do receive nonetheless. All will congregate in this new city where they can be monitored, carefully, for any semblance of radicalized behavior, and where such radicalized behavior can be harshly rewarded. Of course, first the Jordan Option must be made operational, but following this, all the radicals in Gaza can be watched over with care by a leadership which fully rejects all aspects of radical Islamist ideology.
There are a couple of issues with Walter’s discussion. First of all, if the Israelis free the Gaza Strip of Palestinians, it’s theirs to dispose of. There would have to be a quid pro quo if it is handed over to DJT. If Israel frees Gaza, they have the possession, which is half the battle.
I was impressed by the suggestion that punishment is due and since they are all complicit, they should all be punished. We need to consider if the indoctrinated children can be reprogrammed but even if not, we can’t separate them from their parents.