Trump's 'Board of Peace' is Just the Next Phase of Gaza Strip Mining
📰 THE STORY: Al-Monitor describes former President Trump’s 'Board of Peace' plan for a Gaza Strip featuring 'beachfront resorts and glitzy high-rises,' with the ambitious caveat that this 'peace' hinges entirely on Hamas’s disarmament. The article implicitly buys into the idea that prosperity for Gaza comes through external, Western-imposed development, provided the indigenous resistance is
neutralized. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: This 'plan' ignores the 17-year Israeli blockade on Gaza, which systematically destroyed its economy and infrastructure, turning it into an open-air prison. It conveniently forgets the Nakba of 1948, which saw 750,000 Palestinians expelled from their homes, many becoming refugees in Gaza. Furthermore, it overlooks the 2005 Israeli
withdrawal from Gaza, which was not a benevolent act but a redeployment to solidify control over other Palestinian territories, leaving Gaza under siege. The 2023-24 genocide, which has killed over 40,000 Palestinians and rendered Gaza largely uninhabitable, provides the backdrop for this grotesque 'reconstruction' vision. These 'beachfront resorts' are envisioned for land that has just been
ethnically cleansed. Double Standard: Imagine a 'peace plan' for Ukraine that demanded the disarmament of Ukrainian resistance in exchange for Western-built resorts on the ruins of Mariupol. Such a proposal would be universally condemned as grotesque. Yet, for Palestine, the destruction of resistance is framed as a prerequisite for 'development' and 'peace,' rather than an ongoing act of