“If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post-war American president would have been hanged.” 
– Noam Chomsky

In this statement, Professor Chomsky (author, political activist and social critic) was referring to the legal principles used to prosecute the Nazi war criminals after WW2. 

This statement certainly is appropriate for the Biden administration’s support for the genocide in Gaza. Biden’s shameful and illegal funding, supplying and enabling of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza are the most egregious of the many war crimes committed by our country. 

Donald Trump is continuing this tradition and is setting new lows for shameful, criminal behavior. I am referring to his absurd proposal to “take over” Gaza and rebuild it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Last year Trump said Israel should “finish the job” of expelling the Palestinian people from Gaza.

Recently, at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Trump said, “The United States stands ready to lead and make Gaza beautiful again.” 

By this he means his bizarre plan for the United States to “take over the Gaza Strip” and rebuild it as beachfront property. He said, “Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent.”

The man’s ignorance is only surpassed by his arrogance and insensitivity. The missing bodies of many thousands of women, children and non-combatants have not even been recovered from the rubble. Gaza is the graveyard of more than 50,000 innocent people. 

But the U.S. president is callously talking about stealing the land of Gaza for a “beautiful” real estate development. There is nothing “beautiful” about dispossessing the the Palestinian people again. This ethnic cleansing would be another war crime.

If you think I am exaggerating and being unduly partisan, look at the recent video Trump posted on Truth Social depicting his vision of “Trump Gaza” (including a huge golden stature of himself – an Old Testament “graven image” to be worshiped). It is his most obnoxious, nauseating, disgusting display of narcissism and unpresidential behavior to date.

In Trump’s fantasy world he thinks Gaza’s entire population will relocate to other countries. He says there are “other countries...with humanitarian hearts...many of them that want to do this, and build various domains that will ultimately be occupied by the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza, ending the death and destruction and, frankly, bad luck.” 

He claims Palestinians will be “thrilled” to live elsewhere and are only staying because they have “no alternative.”

Who these countries are with “humanitarian hearts” he doesn’t specify. Egypt and Jordan have consistently refused to accept Palestinian refugees. Other Middle Eastern countries have little capacity to absorb the Palestinians. 

Needless to say, Trump is not volunteering the “humanitarian heart” of the United States to take in the victims of the genocide we enabled. Once again Trump simply doesn’t know what he is talking about. The only people supporting his plan are his sycophants and Netanyahu.

This ridiculous proposal is the dumbest foreign policy idea of any American president in our history. Typical of his erratic thinking, Trump has made contradictory statements about whether Palestinians will be allowed to return to Gaza after the reconstruction. His “Riviera in the Middle East” (or “Trump Gaza”) should be more appropriately named “Nakba by the Sea” and the results will not be good.  

For many reasons this proposal will not work. Most obviously, the proposal does not address the causes for the 75 year old conflict in Palestine. These are the expulsion of the Palestinians from their land and apartheid subjugation of the Palestinian people. With no justice for the Palestinians there can be no peace. 

Rebuilding Gaza without peace or the cooperation and participation of Palestinians can only lead to more conflict. 

In order to protect the luxury hotels, beach front condos and golf resorts Trump envisions the Israeli triple layer fortifications around Gaza will have to be maintained. Gaza will go from being the world’s “largest open air prison” to the largest open air gated community. It will be a a prime target for future suicide bombers and rockets attacks. 

In Trump’s fantasy world all this will be built with “no big money spent.” But we’ve heard this story before with Mexico paying for the border wall. 

Obviously even cleaning up the rubble and building decent housing for the Palestinians will cost billions. Other nations might be willing to finance reconstruction for the Palestinians, but no other nations will help finance Trump’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians for his luxury real estate boondoggle. Given the likely continuing conflict and violence, the international banks and private investors will not risk funding this reconstruction. 

This proposal is also bad for the United States. The idea itself is contrary to all U.S. official foreign policy principles – even the ones we routinely ignore about human rights, self determination for people and promoting democracy. Even if it is never built, this idea will hurt U.S. credibility and respect around the world. In addition the proposal will endanger our country. It is guaranteed to create future terrorist attacks on U.S. personnel and facilities all over the world.  

Of course this stupid proposal may be just more of Trump’s ubiquitous, publicity-grabbing, diarrhea of the mouth. Like his other ridiculous pronouncements, it may be just hot air. It could be another of his money-making schemes. It is a plan to give billion dollar contracts to his family and billionaire cronies. Trump has a documented record of using his public office to enrich himself and his family. 

Trump claims to be pursuing noble ends. He said, “Our pursuit is one of lasting peace in the region for all people.” But clearly this is a ploy to finish the ethnic cleansing of Gaza under the cover of reconstruction. 

The most likely outcome of this absurd plan will be decades of continuing conflict in the region. It will result in more death and suffering for the Palestinian and Israeli people. 

Gaza should be rebuilt. But it should be rebuilt by, and for, the Palestinian people as part of the new, free, independent and secure nation of Palestine. In a just world, this would be paid for by the war reparations imposed by the International Criminal Court on Israel and the United States. 

In a just world the perpetrators of genocide in Gaza, including Biden and Netanyahu, would be convicted and punished for their war crimes.

But now I am fantasizing about what will never happen.