Egypt Wants to Curb-Stomp Trump's Gaza Plan, but Who Pays for Theirs?

Egypt has a $53 billion plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip, and you can probably guess whom we have to thank for that.

President Donald Trump set tongues wagging last month when he proposed resettling a million or two Gaza Arabs and turning the Strip — partly occupied and mostly rubble-ized by the Israeli Defense Force — into a 20-mile-long string of luxury resorts.

"The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting," Trump said at the time, almost certainly to reset the conversation about Gaza and kick-start the wealthier Arab nations into action. "The Palestinians ... would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region."

If you want to put the Fear of God (or Allah, whatever) into the heart of an Arab leader, propose sending a few tens of thousands of unruly Gaza or West Bank Arabs into their countries. So-called Palestinian so-called refugees are terrible guests. They pretty much ruined Lebanon and tried to take over Jordan. One look at their sadistic and terrorist excuses for self-rule in the territories they do run tells the rest of the story.

What I'm trying to say here is that Egypt — which ruled Gaza from 1948-1967 and could have gotten it back in 1979 at Camp David but said, "HELL, no!" — took one look at Trump's suggestion of resettling countless Gazans in places like Egypt and came up with a plan of their own. 

The Egyptian plan's features, according to an AFP report today, include:

• The early recovery phase, expected to last six months and cost $3 billion, would focus on “removing mines and unexploded ordnance, clearing debris and providing temporary housing.”
• The plan also includes initial repairs to 60,000 partially damaged homes to accommodate 360,000 people.
• The reconstruction phase would take place in two stages over four and a half years.
• The first stage, running until 2027 with a budget of $20 billion, would focus on rebuilding essential infrastructure, including roads, utility networks, and public service facilities. It also calls for constructing 200,000 permanent housing units for 1.6 million people and reclaiming 20,000 acres of land.
• The second stage, extending to 2030 at an estimated cost of $30 billion, aims to complete infrastructure projects, build another 200,000 housing units, and establish industrial zones, a fishing port, a commercial seaport, and an airport.

For whatever it's worth, I still prefer Trump's resettlement plan, no matter how impossible it might be. 

The big question is, "Who pays?" It looks as though Egypt's plan depends upon $53 billion of Other People's Money, and they haven't yet identified their marks. "Cairo will also host a high-level ministerial conference to bring together donor countries, international and regional financial institutions, the private sector, and civil society groups to secure funding," the AFP report says. 

That's no trivial detail.

If Washington — that's you and me, Bub — is supposed to pony up just a significant fraction of that cash, we'd better get some alterations in Egypt's plan.

The first is that security must be provided by the Israelis. The second is that security must be provided by the Israelis. The third is that UNRWA, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hamas, be disbanded and fully defunded.

I'd insist that the government of Qatar be fully excluded, too. The hosts of Hamas (among other not-so-niceties) must not be given a seat at the post-Hamas Gaza table. 

I'm sure there are other quibbles, but any plans involving the UN and "Palestinian security forces" ought to be considered DOA as far as any US funding goes. We saw on Oct. 7, 2023, what "Palestinian security" means, and the only proper response is, "Never again."

Recommended: You Won't Believe What's Coming to Texas

P.S. Presidential address live blogs like tonight's are a blast, but our VIP members know that the real fun happens in our VIP-only Virtually Troll-Free™ comments section. If you'd like to join us there and aren't already a member, use this FIGHT promo code for a whopping 60% off. Either way, don't miss tonight's festivities.