Gaza
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And in today's news...
More than 350 rabbis, alongside additional signatories including Jewish creatives and activists, have signed an ad in the New York Times in which they condemn Donald Trumpâs proposal for the effective ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.
The ad, which was signed by rabbis including Sharon Brous, Roly Matalon and Alissa Wise, as well as Jewish creatives and activists including Tony Kushner, Ilana Glazer, Naomi Klein and Joaquin Phoenix, says: âTrump has called for the removal of all Palestinians from Gaza. Jewish people say no to ethnic cleansing!â
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/13/rabbis-ad-trump-gaza-plan
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Thatâs a good article, but I think Friedman may be reading too much in to this.
Spanky saw a picture that showed a nice beach lined with substandard buildings and decided it would make a nice resort. Kushner said as much a few years back.
I think it really is that simple.
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More perspective, from DW:
https://www.dw.com/en/can-arab-nations-stop-trumps-gaza-riviera-plans/a-71614047
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An alternative to Donald Trumpâs plan to turn the Gaza Strip into a US-owned âRiviera of the Middle Eastâ is being prepared by Egypt in conjunction with the World Bank, under which Hamas would be formally excluded from governance and control of the territoryâs reconstruction.
The process would be handed over on an interim basis to the control of a social or community support committee. No member of Hamas would sit on the committee. But the future military status of Hamas within Gaza is unresolved, which is likely to be a barrier to Israeli endorsement of the plan.
Arab states â principally the United Arab Emirates and Qatar â are preparing to make financial offers to fund reconstruction, but on the basis that Palestinians are given the right to remain in Gaza and are not forced to seek temporary or permanent refuge in Egypt or Jordan. Reconstruction would take three to five years, with 65% of the property in Gaza having been destroyed.
European sources admit the issue of providing security guarantees to Israel for Gaza remains unresolved since no Arab country is willing to offer troops in the absence of Israel offering a clear political horizon to a Palestinian state.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/16/egypt-gaza-reconstruction-plan-hamas
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The only way to "exclude" Hamas is to occupy the territory with a sizable military force that can go door to door seizing weapons and engaging in combat with battle groups that resist, and which can go tunnel to tunnel wiping out Hamas operatives in them. Any other idea is delusional. Hamas will kill its way to control as soon as it can.
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According to BBC radio 4 Trump(CF) a few minutes ago tweeted that Hamas must release all the remaining hostages and return all bodies now...or else...last warning.
Anyone seen his tweet and able to share?
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The Trump administration has been holding direct talks with Hamas over the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza and the possibility of a broader deal to end the war, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions tell Axios.
Why it matters: The talks â held by U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler â are unprecedented. The U.S. had never before engaged directly with Hamas, which it designated a terrorist organization in 1997.
Behind the scenes: The meetings between Boehler and Hamas officials took place in Doha in recent weeks.
While the Trump administration consulted with Israel about the possibility of engaging with Hamas, Israel learned about aspects of the talks through other channels, one source said.
The sources spoke with Axios on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the sensitive meetings.
https://www.axios.com/2025/03/05/us-hamas-talks-gaza-war-israel
