Can Gaza Be Rebuilt without Falling Back into Terrorism?
As Arab states scurry to come up with a plan for rebuilding Gaza, ideas are being floated to counter President Trump’s proposal to relocate millions of Gazans and for the US to take control of the territory. This week, Egypt is scheduled to unveil its plan, while former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has suggested that Egypt (re)take control of Gaza. Numerous other ideas are also being floated. The Condominiumization of Gaza is the one that can work.
Arab leaders met recently in Saudi Arabia, estimating the cost to rebuild Gaza from $20 to more than $50 billion. In addition to rebuilding, which is essential, there is a discussion about who will be in control: if not Hamas or the Palestinian Authority (PA), which are inept and corrupt terrorist entities, who will be in control? It’s jarring that, after decades of no Arab states wanting to take responsibility for Gaza or the well-being of the Gazans, now they are taking the interest they are. Will the Saudis take control? Will the Qataris, who have been funneling billions to prop up Hamas against the interests of the actual Gazans, take control of their protectorate? Will the UAE create another emirate and try to export its more moderate Islam to a place marked by a century of jihadism? Will Jordan and Egypt do anything possible to prevent the relocation of millions of Gazans to their countries and risk their destabilization?
Can any of them be reliable and effective on their own, much less trusted not to let jihadi Islam continue to spread its roots and deadly terrorist infrastructure?
Having invested billions into a failed Gaza and PA for decades, Arab and Islamic states have two choices: to cut their losses and run, or to double down and invest more to build it as it could have been. Either way, Gaza needs to be rebuilt. The question is whether, in doing so, the jihadis will remain in control and will Gaza remain the epicenter of death and ongoing destruction for decades to come.
To prevent continued radicalization, it’s essential to get beyond decades of hate to build a prosperous, thriving, and peaceful Gaza; what’s needed is the condominiumization of Gaza.
The plan is like this: Gaza will be divided into quadrants along the lines of where existing clans dominate. A different Arab or Islamic country will take responsibility for the complete rebuild of that quadrant, not only the physical rebuild of cities and towns, providing housing for all with a vision for the future, but also schools, hospitals, community centers, as well as transportation, nutrition, and education. Each entity will have a degree of independence and self-sufficiency, competing indirectly to build the most prosperous and peaceful sector, driving investments to propel their prosperity.
Each entity will provide security and law enforcement which of course will be in their own interests. But each adjacent entity will also require of the others that security and law enforcement be maintained in order to prevent problems from spilling over, making each responsible for, and upon, one another: The United Arab Emirates of Gaza.
Funding Gaza’s rebuild will come from the Arab and Islamic countries anyway, along with the US, EU, UN, and others, no matter the plan or who is in control. However, without a viable plan such as this, one that envisions a rebuilt Gaza without being the source of violence that will make its re-destruction an inevitability, some may pay only lip service to rebuilding Gaza rather than actually paying the bills.
Of course, they would be right to withhold any further investment if there’s any sense that without eradicating jihadism, in 10, 15, or 20 more years, Gaza will just be hijacked by terrorists again and destroyed again in a future war.
One of the reasons why no one Arab or Islamic state can take responsibility on their own is because, individually, so many have played corrupting roles in Gaza. Jordan’s King and Queen have raised the level of anti-Israel rhetoric to new depths. Egypt has facilitated or blindly allowed the smuggling of most of Hamas’ weapons. Qatar is Hamas’ sugar daddy, funding and broadcasting unbridled jihadism around the world. Saudi Arabia is unclear whether it’s going to be the anchor of blind support for Gaza against their very own interests or come out of the closet and embrace normalization with Israel. While moderating forces in the Arab world, Bahrain and the UAE will be unlikely to take responsibility alone or to be involved at all without realistic guarantees of not delving into an Islamic abyss.
Israel cannot entrust countries with nefarious intentions to be involved at all. Nobody wants or needs a rebuild and continued enabling of a vast network of terrorism. Not Israel, not the Gazans, and not the rest of the world. That means that only countries with full diplomatic relations with Israel can be among those that undertake responsibility for one of the rebuilt Gazan emirates. Currently, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and the UAE can participate. Not wanting to be left out, perhaps this will be the catalyst for the Saudis to establish full relations with Israel. Beyond the Arab states, this could be the opportunity for Islamic countries like Indonesia and Malaysia – about which it’s been suggested that they would be ready to establish full relations with Israel – to break the ice not only for their own interests but to have a share in the Gaza rebuild. Azerbaijan could join too.
The Arab and Islamic states really cannot trust one another alone, nor would they want to cede authority (or opportunity) to one another.
For millennia, new civilizations have been built on the rubble of previous ones. Gaza affords that opportunity in a unique way. Unlike floating plans for restoring Gaza, it’s time to sink the remains of pre–October 7 Gaza in the Mediterranean. Upon the hundreds of millions of tons of rubble, new islands can be created, not unlike the man-made Islands in the UAE, and upon which new seafront properties, ports, and tourism can be established. There will be no finer example of building the future of Gaza on the ruins of its (jihadi) past. Coupled with the Solution for Peace in Gaza as a pillar to change the hearts of Gazans, the condominiumization of Gaza is the key to a successful, prosperous, and peaceful rebuild.
Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/Ahmad Hasaballah / Stringer
Published Date: March 3, 2025
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of the Salem Web Network.
Jonathan Feldstein is president of the Genesis 123 Foundation whose mission is to build bridges between Jews and Christians. He was born and educated in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six. He is a leader working with and among Christian supporters of Israel, and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel through his work, writing, and as host of the Inspiration from Zion podcast.
Recently he published the highly acclaimed book, Israel the Miracle, which makes a great gift for Chanukah and Christmas.
He can be reached at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com.
Originally published March 03, 2025.
