Donald’s cunning plan

My immediate reaction to Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza was, to a degree, one of admiration. There is no doubt that he is thinking about this terrible problem in ways not thought of before. My more considered reaction was that, if he’s serious about his plan, he should consult with a psychiatrist as soon as possible. Because – as you’ve probably concluded yourself – it won’t work.

The idea that a region that’s been and is being plagued by airstrikes, blockades and the response of resistance fighters – that such a region would be attractive to investors could only come from an over-heated mind.

Gaza at this moment is suffering terribly. Unemployment is off the charts, there is severe food shortage, and a healthcare system that has collapsed. Before you can make Gaza liveable, let alone a luxury resort, you have to sort out the supply of  electricity, water and housing. To get to even that basic living level may take years.

And even were Gaza to be transformed into some sort of luxury resort, the Palestinians don’t want that. This is their homeland, not a tourist magnet run by some foreign power. And it’s highly doubtful that Israel’s right-wing government would ever agree to such a development anyway.

In short, this is another Trump rush-of-blood-to-the-head. The enmities in the region go very deep and we all know what they are. Trump’s crazed fantasy, that he would remove all Palestinians and create his Riviera, with maybe some Palestinians to take the bad look off it, while the rest go to Egypt or Jordan, neither of which wants them,  is the plan of a man who is off his trolley, if he was ever on it.