Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said on Saturday that restoring the Gaza Strip after the war would cost more than $90 billion.
Speaking on Al-Qahera el-Ekhbariya TV, the President added, “Egypt cannot betray the Palestinian people and will do everything possible to protect and support them.”
Here’s an idea: open up the gates at the Rafah crossing and let them use Egypt as a launch pad for a better life in Europe or the Americas.
With a population of about 110 million, Egypt’s annual gross domestic product is $404 billion. Israel, with only 9 million citizens, enjoys a GDP of $488.5 billion.
The combined annual GDP of the PA and Gaza in 2022 was $19 million.
Searching online for the various plans to restore Gaza, I ran into a Christian Science Monitor report from December 22, 2023, headlined, “A plan for Gaza’s future is taking shape. Obstacles loom.”
You can say that again.
The article was focused on creating a happy Palestinian State in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, that will live in peace with its Jewish neighbor and be a beacon of light unto the nations.
Here’s the part that got me: “Under the plan, Gulf states have set an initial budget of $3 billion annually for a 10-year period, with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar as the three largest donors, according to a Gulf official who requested anonymity.”
And, according to the same report, “One Gulf official described ongoing contentious talks with rival Palestinian factions over a list of names for the new government as ‘surprisingly difficult’ and ‘a headache.’”
We’ve been saying it since 1878, when the first Zionists settled Petah Tikvah, only to be attacked shortly thereafter by Bedouin marauders.
In my view, the only way to establish a peaceful Palestinian State would be to exchange its residents with Swedes and Canadians. Everybody wins.
