Economic Plan for Rebuilding Gaza
The Times of Israel by Tal Schneider 07 February 2025

Extracts:
George Washington University GWU economics professor Joseph Pelzman authored the "out-of-the-box" Economic Plan for Rebuilding Gaza and submitted it, to Trump’s team as early as July 2024

• What did UNRWA do with their billions of funding for 70 odd years

It presents a viewpoint whereby Gaza’s economy has reached absolute rock bottom

Pelzman cites World Bank data, which states that between 2007 and 2022 Gaza’s annual GDP growth averaged 0.4% while per capita GDP declined by 2.5% per year due to high population growth

Moreover because of the war that erupted following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 the destruction in Gaza has become so extensive that it is beyond repair or reconstruction, according to the professor

In fact, according to Pelzman, no private or international investment entity would enter Gaza as things stand

Pelzman told Dr. Kobby Barda, an Israeli historian specializing in American politics and geo-strategy,
Pelzman presented additional data, already known to the public:

As of 2022 Gaza’s unemployment rate stood at 45% and 53% of the population lived below the poverty line, compared to about 13% of the Palestinians living in the West Bank

According to World Bank estimates from March 2024 cited by Pelzman, approximately 1.2 million people in Gaza were homeless and destitute “due to Hamas actions”

Economic Plan for Rebuilding Gaza
The Times of Israel by Tal Schneider 07 February 2025

Extracts:

• Gaza the ‘Riviera’ of the Middle East

Additionally 62% of the buildings still standing had sustained severe damage that rendered them uninhabitable and 90% of the main roads had been destroyed

Pelzman said on Barda’s podcast

• Pelzman said his plan, started with a three-sector model of Gaza but it requires that the place be completely emptied out

I mean, literally emptied out, dug up from scratch – and the concrete can be recycled
The plan presented by Pelzman, who previously worked with USAID on economic developments in China, utilizes the BOT method – Build-Operate-Transfer – a model implemented in developing countries

According to this method, private sector companies and organizations enter into investment partnerships with governmental entities, receiving a property lease from the government for 50-100 years

Under this system, a private entity constructs and operates the project for several decades, after which ownership is transferred to a public authority During the operational period, the private entity is allowed to charge fees for the use of the infrastructure

Economic Plan for Rebuilding Gaza
The Times of Israel by Tal Schneider 07 February 2025

Extracts:

• Gaza rebuild, range from $1 to $2 trillion, 5 to 10 years

In Pelzman's research paper, Pelzman characterizes his approach as treating Gaza “from a purely economic perspective” which seeks “the investment solution to a failed experiment” – namely, the Gaza Strip since Israel withdrew from it in 2005

Among other things, Pelzman’s plan would see a Gaza Strip powered entirely by solar energy, traversed by a light rail system and serviced by air- and sea-ports The Strip will be independent of Israel for its energy needs

Meanwhile, Pelzman writes “there are no ex-ante restrictions on the mobility of local residents to exit Gaza”

According to Pelzman’s planPelzman's estimate is based on a model that analyzes a Gazan post-war economy driven by the agriculture, tourism and tech sectors

Pelzman envisions,
1. restaurants, hotels and other luxury amenities on the Strip’s western, seafront side;
2. and residential buildings – “[People’s Republic of China]-styled 30-floor housing units” on the eastern side
3. In between will be agricultural areas and greenhouses

The reconstruction will require “the complete excavation of the terror tunnels” though Pelzman says the IDF has already done much of the work

Economic Plan for Rebuilding Gaza
The Times of Israel by Tal Schneider 07 February 2025

Extracts:

• Gaza’s governance e-government

Pelzman indicates repeatedly in his paper that his preferred mode for Gaza’s governance is e-government, meaning government that makes use of technological means.

In particular, precluding the need for paper money, credit cards or foreign aid,
The Strip will have no monetary authority and
Good thinking! 99
1. No UNRWA misusing funds
2. No siphoning off funds for terrorists Hamas

Furthermore, Pelzman suggests that experts appointed by the foreign shareholders would oversee,
Pelzman suggests importing curricula – from kindergarten to university – from the educational models of the UAE or Saudi Arabia, based on their recent reforms and Sunni-Sufi Islamic teachings

Security must be assigned to,
1. partners who share the common interest of removing Hamas
2. and their co-conspirators from any role
3. and are “interested in demilitarizing Gaza permanently

Per Pelzman, Hamas has no property rights in Gaza, under the 1993 Oslo Accords, which he says were left intact when Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005

Trump signs executive order halting aid to South Africa
Haaretz by Ben Samuels 08 February 2025

Extracts:

• Trump tightens purse strings on South Africa over it's ICJ case against Israel

Trump signs executive order halting aid to South Africa, citing its position on Israel

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order suspending aid and assistance to South Africa

Among the reasons cited for the decision were South Africa's
1. aggressive positions towards the United States and its allies,
2. accusing Israel not Hamas, of genocide in the International Court of Justice ICJ
3. and reinvigorating its relations with Iran, to develop commercial, military and nuclear arrangements

the order continues, The United States, cannot support,
1. the government of South Africa's commission of rights violations in, its country
2. or its undermining United States foreign policy,
3. which poses national security threats to our Nation, our allies, our African partners and our interests

US approves $7.4bn sale of more weapons to Israel
Agence France-Press AFP in Washington and The Guardian 08 February 2025

Extracts:

• US approves $7.4billion sale of more weapons to Israel used to ravage Gaza

State department signs off on bombs and missiles sales that the US claims would help Israel ‘defend its borders’

The United States has announced the approval of the sale of more than $7.4billion in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel, which has used American-made weapons to devastating effect during the war in Gaza

The state department has signed off on the sale of $6.75billion in bombs, guidance kits and fuses, in addition to $660m in Hellfire missiles, according to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)

DSCA said,
Israel launched a hugely destructive offensive in Gaza in October 2023 in response to an unprecedented attack by Hamas that month

The war has devastated much of Gaza resulting in the displacement of much of its population but a ceasefire has been in effect since last month, providing for the release of hostages seized by Hamas

In response to concerns over civilian deaths, then President Joe Biden’s administration blocked a shipment of 2,000lb bombs to Israel – larger than those in the latest proposed sale – but his successor Trump reportedly approved the shipment after returning to office

While the state department has approved the sale of the bombs and missiles, the transactions still need to be approved by Congress, which is unlikely to block the provision of the weapons to Washington’s closest ally in the Middle East

DSCA said in a statement, the proposed sale,
1. improves Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats,
2. strengthen its homeland defense
3. and serves as a deterrent to regional threats

Trump is in, no rush to implement Gaza plan
The Jerusalem Post 07 February 2025

Extracts:

• IDF - finish the job, in Gaza

US President Donald Trump on Friday said, he is in, no rush to implement his plan, to take over and redevelop Gaza

Trump told reporters at the White House
I reckon! Trump having set off / ignited the Gaza firecracker, is giving Israel [more] time,
1. to finish the job
2. completely empty Gaza out
3. Nothing Nobody remains, in Gaza
4. neutralize the terrorists Hamas

Netanyahu described Trump as1. we have to finish the job in Gaza
2. and “Israel will end the war, by winning the war"

It's a long way to the top! longer than 16 months if you wanna rock 'n' roll [Ref: AC/DC Australian Rock band] in terror business
07 October 2023
complacent Israel letting Hamas breach Israel's 'Fort Knox' deterrence vaunted security barriers Iron Wall, Iron Dome and some

Lebanon and Gaza could be a nice place for Muslims Christians and Jews why fight each other?
the Bible and Koran have the same Prophets.

All Israel News February 5, 2025
Why no one wants Gazans

You’d think that with all the tears shed, by the nations of the world, over the plight of Gazans, that someone, among them, would be anxious to take them in and give them a home. But, the surprising reality is that no one wants them. Why is that?

While it’s tempting to believe the convenient excuse, that facilitating a temporary home for Gazans might result in their never being permitted to return to the place where they have lived for decades, the claim is not relevant, because, at the moment, Gazans have no homes in which to return.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who initially suggested that Jordan and Egypt take in the 2 million homeless population, did so, because, as he said, “Gaza is literally a demolition site right now.”

Now that Trump has offered to control the Gaza Strip, it’s very likely that he will strongarm Jordan and Egypt into providing a temporary refuge for these people, but that doesn’t come without its risks, because the potential for the aligning of groups that prefer the tactics of terrorism to that of a conventional government could easily be the undoing of either or both of these countries.

All Israel News February 5, 2025
Why no one wants Gazans

Of course, they are not exactly the type of citizens who would enhance any country.

The real truth is Jordan and Egypt and other nations of the world, know the true capability of these people and have a justified fear as to what could result from opening their doors to a population which has continually voted for a government run by hardened Hamas terrorists who have successfully indoctrinated the next generation to abandon all thoughts of family, career and a good life in favor of becoming a shahid (martyr) before the age of 30

The radicalization of these young people, coupled with the willingness and cooperation of their parents, have turned them into a dreaded liability, which no nation is willing to take on, given their own difficulties with the extreme elements who already live among them.

In short, they already have their hands full, making sure that their home-grown radicals are contained.

Gazans have no one to blame if they are persona non grata to the nations of the world, who claim to lament their sad state, but everyone knows that tears from a distance usually lack the absence of real authenticity!

All Israel News February 7, 2025
Did Netanyahu know? How Trump’s stunning Gaza takeover plan came about

Israel apparently knew something was coming but 'US ownership' came as surprise

This week, U.S. President Donald Trump did what he does best, smashing decade-old paradigms of Middle East policy with a new idea whose details remain shrouded with questions: The U.S. will take over Gaza, while its inhabitants will move somewhere else, possibly to return after reconstruction.

The states in the region were so shocked that only Saudi Arabia could muster an immediate response, while the rest later followed its lead.

However, one of the most interesting questions raised by Trump’s surprise move is who knew about it before, and particularly: Was the Israeli government surprised by it?

Several indications point to the fact that Israel knew the general gist of the idea, particularly the goal of relocating at least large portions of the Gazan population but was surprised by the scope of what the president proposed, especially U.S. “ownership” of the area.

Several commentators pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looked surprised when Trump declared the U.S. would take “long-term ownership” of the enclave.

When asked about the plan during the joint press conference, the prime minister could only offer general, vague comments, indicating he was, indeed, caught by surprise.

He lauded Trump’s “willingness to puncture conventional thinking,” noted how Trump had taken his own goals “to a much higher level,” and emphasized “it's worthwhile really pursuing this avenue.”

The next day, in an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News, Netanyahu, again, appeared to praise the thought process behind the idea, which he called “the first good idea that I’ve heard,” rather than endorsing the actual plan of having the U.S. control Gaza for the foreseeable future.

Finally, in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, Netanyahu denied he had been surprised, noting,
“I knew about this general direction, but I think it was the world who was surprised.”

The prime minister also apparently adopted the plan as Israel’s new policy for a “day after,” which he stressed would only come after Hamas was removed from the area.

Several recent media reports, while only citing anonymous sources, supported the impression that Netanyahu knew something was coming, but was caught off guard by the scope of Trump’s plan.

I believe it's true they kept him in the dark, while Trump is a big backer of Israel. He doen't trust Netanyahu anymore. He said the Oct. 7 Hamas assault on Israel “should have never happened” and blamed Netanyahu for not seeing it coming. Their relationship already soured after Biden won the 2020 election and Netanyahu congratulated him.

From: Reuters and The Jerusalem Post February 9, 2025
Hamas claims victory as IDF withdraws from Gaza's Netzarim Corridor

The corridor cut off Gaza's northern communities, including its largest metropolitan area, from the south.

As the IDF wholly withdrew on Sunday from the Netzarim Corridor, forces fired on Palestinians who they said entered their security perimeter in northern Gaza, reportedly killing three.

Israeli forces had already reduced their presence in Netzarim on January 27 when most troops were withdrawn from the corridor, which allowed Palestinians in southern Gaza to return north for the first time since late 2023

Sunday, however, marked the completion date of the Netzarim withdrawal as part of phase one of the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, which went into effect on January 19 and has already seen 16 hostages released out of the 33 slated for release through March 1

The completion of the withdrawal served largely as an additional symbolic win for Hamas, showing it’s increasingly regaining control over Gaza.

Private American security forces contractors are checking any vehicles passing through the corridor.
Several times now, vehicles going north that avoided the corridor have been attacked by the Israel Air Force.

IDF withdrawal from Gaza's Netzarim Corridor
Despite issuing a flurry of press releases about Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank, the military did not comment on the Netzarim withdrawal.

Reuters footage showed what appeared to be military vehicles moving away from the coast and towards the Israeli border.

Since November-December 2023 the IDF has occupied the roughly 6 km.-long corridor south of Gaza City, which separates northern and southern Gaza and stretches from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.

In northern Gaza, the IDF said Gazans approached military positions and the border fence near Nahal Oz despite the ceasefire deal provision granting the IDF a 700-1,100 meter buffer zone.

The military said it fired warning shots to encourage the Gazans to withdraw to a safer distance.
It confirmed that some had been hit, though it was unclear why they would be hit by warning fire in the air.

Hamas says Israeli withdrawal from Netzarim proves its failure

According to Palestinian media, three people were killed.

The military did not signal that it was probing the incident but rather put the onus for the incident on those individuals who approached the military positions, saying they were taking dangerous actions and must respect the ceasefire conditions and the perimeter lines.

In a separate incident, Palestinian media said a woman was killed east of the Khan Yunis suburb of Al-Qarara in southern Gaza.

It was unclear whether Hamas was provoking these incidents:
1. to try to keep Israel on the defensive
2. and test its commitment to maintaining a perimeter within Gaza
3. or if they occurred due to more random miscommunications.

Jordan and Egypt

From: Reuters and Haaretz February 9, 2025
Trump says: he is committed to buying, owning Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said that he is committed to buying and owning Gaza, but could give sections of the land to other states in the Middle East to help in the rebuilding effort.

Jordan and Egypt warn Gaza displacement will solidify Hamas presence along Israel's borders

Egyptian and Jordanian officials have raised concerns that a large-scale displacement of Gaza's Palestinians into their countries could lead to the establishment of terrorist strongholds along their borders with Israel.

According to senior security officials, both countries have warned of potential consequences stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to expel Gaza's population to their lands.

Egyptian security officials fear that an influx of hundreds of thousands of Hamas operatives into the Sinai region through the Rafah crossing could destabilize the border and threaten the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.

In Jordan, authorities stress that the kingdom's political climate is already sensitive, especially following the significant gains made by the Muslim Brotherhood in the parliamentary elections last September.

Turkey

From: Reuters and The Times of Israel February 9, 2025
Erdogan says no point discussing Trump’s ‘futile’ plan for Gaza, as it won’t happen

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says in a news conference, suggesting that Israel was behind Trump’s proposal.
Erdogan says: that there is no point in discussing what US President Donald Trump has said about a plan to take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

From our perspective:
1. there is nothing worth talking about the proposals brought up by the new US administration regarding Gaza under the pressure of the Zionist lobby,
2. This plan is completely futile…
3. No one has the power to remove the people of Gaza from their homeland.
4. The people of Gaza will continue to stay in Gaza, live in Gaza and protect Gaza

From: Haaretz February 9, 2025

Trump shares opinion piece:
1. endorsing Gaza resettlement plan,
2. advocating for West Bank annexation

U.S. President Donald Trump reshared an opinion piece posted on the right-wing Israel National News website:
1. praising, his Gaza resettlement plan
2. while linking it to the need to pursue West Bank annexation.

not Rocket science! even with their great wealth...

Trump: Patience with Hamas running out
The Times of Israel by Michael Bachner 10 February 2025

Extracts:

• Trump: Patience with Hamas running out. Freed hostages,
  1. resembled Jews under Nazi Germany
  2. ‘looked like Holocaust survivors’

US president says emaciated captives freed on Saturday,adding,
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the three Israeli hostages who were released by Hamas a day earlier,warning that

Trump: Patience with Hamas running out
The Times of Israel by Michael Bachner 10 February 2025

Extracts:

• freed hostages: Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl, the freed hostages,
Trump went on to say the trio,
Trump noted that according to the current ceasefire and hostage deal, captives are supposed to “keep drippling in” but added,
1. They are in really bad shape, they have been treated brutally, horribly
2. Even the ones that came out earlier, they were in a little bit better shape but mentally they were treated so badly

Trump: Patience with Hamas running out
The Times of Israel by Michael Bachner 10 February 2025

• ceasefire deal uncertainty

The comments came amid fresh uncertainty over whether the ceasefire deal will be seen through until all remaining 76 hostages are freed and days after the US president called for the removal of Palestinians from the enclave and for the US to take control of it

Trump posted on X

Trump: Patience with Hamas running out
The Times of Israel by Michael Bachner 10 February 2025

Extracts:

• Trump: committed to having the US buy and take ownership of Gaza

Trump also told reporters he remained committed to having the US buy and take ownership of Gaza after Palestinians leave or are removed from the enclave, a surprise announcement he made February 4 during Netanyahu’s recent visit to Washington

Trump said other countries may take part in rebuilding sections of Gaza
But we’re committed to,
1. owning Gaza
2. taking it
3. and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back

The Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, 2023 when some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians and taking 251 hostages, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault

Trump: Patience with Hamas running out
The Times of Israel by Michael Bachner 10 February 2025

Extracts:

• 73 of the 251 hostages currently remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34

After some 16 months, Day 493 of fighting, a three-stage hostage-ceasefire deal was reached in January 2025 which would see,
1. Hamas release the hostages
2. Israel release thousands of Palestinian security prisoners
3. and a stop to fighting in Gaza, alongside negotiations that would ultimately result in a permanent ceasefire
4. and full Israeli withdrawal from the enclave

73 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 currently remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF

Hamas has so far released 21 hostages — civilians, soldiers, and Thai nationals — during the current, ongoing ceasefire
The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023 and four hostages were released before that

8 hostages have been rescued alive by troops and the bodies of 40 hostages have also been recovered, including 3 mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors

Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015 as well as the body of an IDF soldier who was killed in 2014

The body of another IDF soldier, also killed in 2014 was recovered from Gaza in January

Netanyahu’s Happiest Moment: A Complete US-Israel Reset?
Joel Rosenberg, founder and editor-in-chief of All Israel News 06 February 2025

Extracts: [from 15 minute YouTube video]

• Netanyahu’s Happiest Moment: A Complete US-Israel Reset?

Have you ever seen Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as happy as he was during his recent meeting with President Trump?

Joel Rosenberg, shares his insights after decades of tracking Netanyahu’s career
1. Why was Netanyahu almost giddy?
2. What does this meeting signal for US-Israel relations, especially after years of tension with previous administrations?
3. And are there hidden disagreements between Trump and Netanyahu?

The eyes of the world are increasingly riveted on Israel and the Middle East, the Epicenter of momentous events, shaking our world and shaping our future

Netanyahu gets Trump for four years and they get so much done but they have tensions behind the scenes and then Netanyahu gets Biden and Harris and the region went from peace and prosperity and the Abraham Accords to war chaos Terror horror

So Netanyahu is just relieved first of all, that a truly 100,000% pro-Israel president is in the Oval Office and whatever their past disagreements Netanyahu is really excited about working with Trump and I think, Trump looking forward to working with Netanyahu that's why Trump invited Bibi to be the first world leader to come to the White House

From: Al Jazeera February 10, 2025
Elation, confusion mark Israel’s reaction to Trump’s Gaza comments

US president’s comments, which appear to offer the Israeli far-right much, may ultimately deliver little, analysts say.

Confusion, alongside some elation, reigns in Israel’s public and political class that remains unclear as to what United States President Donald Trump’s comments about Gaza really mean.

For the extreme right and ultra-Orthodox factions of Israeli politics, the idea makes sense – that the population of Gaza be displaced to make way for the US to oversee some kind of reconstruction that they assume would ultimately be for the people of Israel.

Some analysts, however, saw the dysfunction in Trump’s bombastic remarks about land he has no claim to and that is inhabited by its people, pointing out that such brute force could just as easily be applied to Israelis in illegal settlements all over the Palestinian West Bank.

A poll by Israeli Channel 13 showed that:
1. while 72 percent of Israelis liked US President Donald Trump’s idea that the US control the Gaza Strip,
2. only 35 percent thought it would ever be implemented.

Equally unclear to observers across Israeli politics is how Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks can fit in with the three-stage ceasefire deal negotiated between Hamas and Israel to end months of Israel’s unrestrained war on Gaza.

Promises:
The belief that Palestine is Israel’s by some sort of divine right has been the stated justification for actions by politicians like self-described “fascist homophobe” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, right-wing provocateur and former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and settler movements such as Nachala, which organised a conference in January last year to discuss colonising Gaza.

The ceasefire agreement, which meant Israel would have to stop bombing Gaza, disappointed the extreme right who seemed to want the assault to continue until Israel could claim the entire enclave.

In the build-up to the signing of the deal on January 17 both Smotrich and Ben-Gvir threatened to resign from the government in objection to its conditions.

Only Ben-Gvir quit, but he left behind his Otzma Yehudit party in the governing coalition, making his move seem performative to many observers.

Smotrich was “persuaded” to remain in return for assurances from Netanyahu that he,
1. had no intention of honouring the deal signed with Hamas
2. and would resume the war once the first stage had been completed.

Aspirations:
At first sight, Trump’s outlandish idea appears to offer the far right the end goal of controlling Gaza.

Mitchell Barak, an Israeli pollster and former political aide to senior Israeli figures, including Netanyahu, told Al Jazeera:
1. “Trump went much further than anyone expected,”
2. “In the short term, what Trump has delivered is better than what Smotrich and Ben-Gvir could have hoped for.”

Ben-Gvir quickly said the possibility of ethnically cleansing Gaza might be enough to persuade him to forget past grievances and return to the government.

He told Galey Israel Radio on Wednesday:
1. “We have a huge opportunity and we must not miss it,”
2. “There were those who worked on it in Israel long before and earned nicknames like ‘messianic and delusional’.”

Nachala claimed to be readying itself to seize Gaza as soon as its people, under the terms set out by Trump, were ethnically cleansed.

However, Barak pointed out:
1. “They’re [Israel’s far right] not going to decide how this thing will end;
2. Trump will, and part of his plan is to find a solution for Palestinians.
3. That could still involve some kind of two-state solution,” referring to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Barak warned:
“If Trump has the power to depopulate Gaza, he also has the power to relocate Israelis from the settlements,”