Rebuilding Gaza, learning from the past

Marc Eichinger | Exclusive to iKurd.net

Every month, the UN satellite center UNOSAT publishes images of the Gaza Strip showing massive destruction. This is unprecedented since the Second World War, especially as the demolition is not being carried out strategically using one-ton bombs.

The Gaza Strip and its underground network were built after the visit of Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani in October 2012. In full agreement with the Netanyahu government of the time, the Qataris will finance the construction of modern infrastructure and Hamas tunnels to turn the enclave into a modern city comparable to many other cities in the Arab world. To secure Israel’s good graces, the Al Thani family bribed the Israeli authorities, including through the NGO World Vision¹.

After October 7, 2023, the Israeli government refuses to negotiate the release of the hostages, while the Israeli NGO B’TSELEM clearly shows that at the end of September, Israel had 4,764 detainees, 2,427 of whom have nothing to do with any terrorist activity and had not been brought to justice.

The choice has been made to destroy Gaza without freeing the hostages, and we know what will happen next. Almost 10,000 Palestinians are now at “ the university”, as they call the Israeli prison. They are well placed to learn hatred of Jews and everything Israel stands for. All those who opposed Hamas are now in its ranks. These Palestinians will never be tried and have no right to a lawyer. All those who have no military value will become tomorrow’s fighters.

All students of counter-terrorism from Saint Andrew’s to West Point, to name but a few, know that excess is the enemy of the normalization process. Arbitrary arrests, torture and humiliation only radicalize the victims and their families.

Through its total lack of strategy, its management of prisoners and its massive destruction of Gaza, Israel has sown the seeds of chaos for decades to come.

All the blood spilt since October 7, 2023 has not made the world a better or safer place for either Israelis or Jews. All this war effort has done is ruin the Israeli economy and lead to an informal boycott in countries previously sympathetic to the Israeli cause.

Can the reconstruction of Gaza make up for these mistakes, and how?

For twenty years, the USA tried to rebuild Afghanistan, only to be expelled in disgrace. We all remember the bags of cash dumped by the Marines during the reconstruction of Iraq under Paul Bremer.

We know from these experiences that corruption and organized crime will take hold as soon as the word reconstruction is uttered by officials and the press.

It will be imperative to set up an international anti-crime platform to manage activities in the Gaza Strip, capable of working in partnership with Israeli police units and Lahav 433 in particular. This presupposes that Israel will rid itself of its extreme right-wing and return to the path of democracy.

A country that can’t define itself doesn’t know where it’s going, and there’s no point in rebuilding on its borders if nobody recognizes them. Today, Palestinians can have up to five different administrative statuses. Is it even possible to give all residents of Israel the same rights and duties as in Western democracies?

On a technical level, the challenges are numerous. The mass of debris amounts to some 40 million tons. According to the UN, it would take a hundred trucks 15 years to clear the land. The debris would have to be stored over 400 hectares.

This space is not available in either Egypt or Israel, especially as the debris is contaminated with various products that can eventually lead to cancer in those who breathe the dust or handle the components.

Beryllium is present in all guided bombs and is extremely toxic, even for IDF soldiers in the field. It is added to unexploded ordnance and other mines. The presence of asbestos in the debris is also to be feared.

Those who doubt the dangerousness of the situation can visit the cemeteries for monster babies in Fallujah or Basra. American veterans who served in Iraq from 2003 to 2011 are also key witnesses. They benefit from special treatment that Israel will have to copy in the years to come².

There is only one solution to limit the risks and manage this waste.

The Russian MI26 helicopters that Jordan is equipped with can lift up to 20 tons. These aircraft are to be used to support bulldozers and trucks on the ground, to move rubble into the sea and build two infrastructures, a deep-water port and an airport.

The creation of these two infrastructures will create jobs and give Gazans hope and a future. It is also imperative to cut ties with Qatar, where Israel has done absolutely nothing since the start of the war. It’s absurd to believe that we can fight terrorism without worrying about financing mafias like Hamas.

The only way to break free from Qatari tutelage is to respect the development agreement for the Gaza Marine gas field, 35 km off the coast. On June 18, 2023, after more than a decade of consultation, the Palestinian Authority and Benjamin Netanyahu officially announced the start of exploitation of this gas resource, which could bail out Gaza to the tune of 600 MUSD per year³.

Was the exploitation of this gas field behind Qatar’s decision to allow Hamas to attack Israel on October 7 of the same year? Qatar was about to lose its exclusive funding of Gaza and its influence in the region. Was this acceptable to the Al Thani family?

1 https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2024/07/09/valigette-di-soldi-del-qatar-a-netanyahu-nuovi-documenti-accusano-il-premier-israeliano-linchiesta-di-giulia-bosetti-per-rainews/7616747/
2 Iraq War Veterans Health Issues | Veterans Affairs (va.gov)

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