Less than two weeks after Hamas’s assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, I penned an op-ed arguing that it was “time to face reality in Gaza.” 15 months later, President Donald Trump is finally forcing the rest of the world to face that reality.
Specifically, Trump is forcing the world to understand that if we are to live up to repeated pledges of “never again,” the conditions that precipitated October 7 must be addressed. The reality is that Gaza is not just Israel’s problem, but everyone’s problem.
No matter what role the United States plays in the future of Gaza, President Trump has ended forever the myth that has dominated thinking on the issue: that Gaza and the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict concern only Israel and the Palestinians, and that if enough pressure is exerted on them, they will somehow settle everything overnight.
That notion is international political idealism bordering on childlike naivety. President Trump, a realist, recognizes that sometimes different parties want different things for legitimate reasons. As a dealmaker, he also recognizes that successful agreements are about eliminating causes of conflict, not signing pieces of paper.
The Palestinians of Gaza have some genuine grievances, but the reason those grievances are going unaddressed is not because Israel is stubborn, but rather because Israel cannot address them no matter how much Israelis wish to do so. Israelis and Palestinians are both in some sense victims of the wider international community, which has conspired to maintain the lie that the entire conflict is some municipal zoning dispute driven by immature and stubborn local politicians.
Too many Western leaders believe that there exists some magical agreement that would settle all territorial disputes, end all violence, and ensure prosperity for all if only Israeli leaders would make “concessions for peace” and Palestinian leaders would sign their names on the dotted line.
What, then, is the problem with Gaza? In the wake of the 2023 attacks, I wrote:
It is also not a lie to say that Gaza is an “open air prison” – but left-wing activists miss the significance of that comparison when they speak of an Israeli “occupation.” There is no Israeli occupation of Gaza. Israel has no claims on Gazan land. On the contrary, Israel tried to give Gaza away to Egypt, and most recently an international force. The fact is that no one wants Gaza, not even the Gazans. If Gaza is an “open air prison,” it is because the Palestinians want to leave but cannot.
The cause of conflict in Gaza is not, as anti-Israel voices have screamed, an Israeli desire to drive the Palestinian population out. Rather, it has been the refusal of anyone in the world to allow the Gazans to leave and resettle.
The desire to leave is understandable. Any sane person with aspirations for themselves or their families would wish to leave Gaza. Even in the best of historical and economic circumstances, it would be hard for 2.5 million Palestinians, or any other group of people for that matter, to build lives on that desolate territory with a population density of nearly 17,000 per square mile. A city such as Singapore or Hong Kong can maintain that density with a hinterland, but the premise of any “two-state” solution is that Gaza will not have access to any hinterland.
In a sense, this is one reason why Hamas’s message has been so popular in Gaza and why pro-Palestinian activists denounce an “Israeli occupation” of Gaza’s straits, despite the absence of any Israeli military presence since 2005 and every settlement having been dismantled by the IDF. The very existence of an Israeli state within its 1967 borders would render the Gaza Strip economically non-viable. In effect, for Gaza to live, Israel must die.
Even without the historical animosity between the populations, Israel could no more be expected to open its border than America could if Mexico faced decades of total state collapse. With the animosity, asking Israel to accept the free movement of more than a million Gazans would be like asking America to accept the free movement of 90 million hostile refugees. It doesn’t matter if the Palestinians have grievances they feel are valid. Precisely because they do, it is to ask Israel to commit an act of suicide.
In short, there is no way to create a peaceful, economically viable Gaza for its current population of 2.5 million people without open borders with Egypt and Israel. Opening those borders, without a financially viable Gaza, would likely cause more than a million Palestinians to leave, invading their neighbors. Hence, Egypt and Israel feel forced to keep the Palestinian population trapped in Gaza with no prospects, ensuring inevitable explosions of violence.
When faced with a binary problem in which both options are non-viable, there are, ironically, two choices. The first is to do what the international community and America’s bipartisan foreign policy elite have done for two decades; that is, to deny reality, insist a magical solution exists if enough effort is invested into the delusion, and then blame both sides for failing to bring about the impossible.
The other is to do what President Trump has just done – demand better options.
As I also noted back when the current conflict began:
The irony is that the actual Gaza situation is the one area of the conflict where there is an obvious way to solve this in a manner acceptable to both Israelis and Palestinians. Most Gazans want to leave, and the reason Israel and Egypt guard their borders is to prevent nearly the entire population from pouring out.
In turn, the migration of a large portion of Gaza’s population would aid Israel. The reason the problem persists is that the entire world insists that Israel must keep 2.3 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza against their will, and then denounces the Jewish state for creating “an open-air prison.” The European Union funds Hamas, which terrorizes the Palestinians, and when Hamas commits acts of barbarism, their greatest fear is a refugee crisis.
Donald Trump did not merely propose a solution this week. He shattered two key myths that stood in the way of any solution. He did so first by raising the question of what the Palestinians actually wanted and second by proving that Israel neither wants Gaza nor owns it.
The Palestinians have never been opposed to leaving “their land.” The Arab states have been most attached to historic Palestinian claims to specific parcels of land, as these states for decades have wished to keep the Palestinians trapped there. The caricature of the Palestinians as the world’s only hereditary refugee population, with children willing to give up their lives to lay claim to towns where neither they nor their grandparents have set foot, is the creation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (which Trump wisely chose to exit the United States from this week), not a reflection of reality.
The insistence that the burden lies on Israel to somehow make concessions to appease Gaza, in turn, relies on the myth that Israel somehow owns Gaza. By suggesting an American takeover of Gaza, Donald Trump made clear that Gaza is no longer Israel’s responsibility.
Contrary to anti-Israel voices that ascribe expansionist motives to Israel’s actions, Israel has done everything it can to demonstrate its lack of interest in Gaza. It offered to return the region to Egypt, pulled its citizens and troops out, and offered it to various international bodies. None of this worked because it was convenient for neighboring countries to pretend Israel wanted Gaza to saddle Israel with responsibility for it.
The brilliance of President Trump’s move is that, by accepting Israel’s offer to give up Gaza, he has destroyed any pretense that Israel wants Gaza. What is important is that President Trump publicly asked Israel for Gaza, and Prime Minister Netanyahu said yes. Everyone now knows that Israel will give Gaza to whoever asks for it, and the burden is now on those criticizing Israel’s actions in Gaza to explain why they won’t take it if they care so much about it.
The Middle East is known for Machiavellian power plays. Still, it is difficult to find another move that has completely transformed a significant conflict in such a short time as President Trump’s Gaza proposal. It does not commit the United States to taking control of Gaza any more than it commits the Gazan population to entirely relocating.
The actual solution will, in all probability, be a combination of the voluntary resettlement of a substantial minority of Gaza’s population combined with a reconstruction of Gaza funded by Arab states and overseen, perhaps, by the United States.
Thanks to President Trump, however, we are now discussing these real solutions rather than continuing the pointless spiral of pursuing other courses of action that have already been tried and failed. Israel’s international critics are no longer able to hide behind myths.
Today, the world is finally facing reality in Gaza, and millions of Israelis and Palestinians should thank Donald Trump for it.
Walter Samuel is the pseudonym of a prolific international affairs writer and academic. He has worked in Washington as well as in London and Asia, and holds a Doctorate in International History.
President Trump is simply highlighting the reality of the situation that exists pertaining to Gaza and the Palestinians there. Something that no other U.S. President in the last 30 years has been willing to say and do. Up until now, what we have been treated to by the so-called “experts”, both here and in the Middle East and Europe as well, has been the pushing of a theoretical two-state solution devised by academics or bureaucrats with no real-world experience, that was formulated devoid of any of the realities that exist in Middle East. That is why any and all attempts at achieving it have failed over and over again for decades. The insanity of insisting that this mythical two-state solution be the only course of action ever pursued must of course end.
What President Trump is suggesting would require buy-in from a number of Arab Nations (Not something that will be easy to get given the past history of what happened when some of them allowed those same Gaza Palestinians into their countries before. See Jordan and Egypt as examples.), as well as a substantial commitment of financial and military resources from both Middle Eastern and European countries that all have skin in the outcome of any proposed solution. In short, President Trump is calling the bluff of the Middle Eastern and European leaders who have been content for decades to demand, wring their hands and opine about Gaza endlessly, but refused to do anything more than simply write checks to Hamas, via the corrupt U.N. and other avenues, to buy off Hamas and the PLO, so they can buy weapons to periodically attacks Israel while their own people starve. An endless cycle with a predictable outcome.
Peace is something that all parties have to agree to. That of course would require the Palestinians of Gaza to want it, which even now many there don’t. A recent poll conducted of Gazans showed they still support Hamas and the attack on Israel of October 7th. So obviously any nation in the Middle East that might be willing to take in some Gazans on a temporary basis would be fully aware that NOTHING has changed, in terms of a single-minded pursuit of the Gazan people to commit more violence at the first opportunity.
I have to ask, why is it no regional country that will accept Palestinians? They don’t want them permanently, they don’t even want them temporarily. Could it be that anywhere Palestinians go, trouble follows?
The Master of the Deal, and the world’s most powerful, significant leader and peace maker President Donald Trump, has shattered the box that ALL OTHER so-called world and Middle East leaders have been living in for decades. His wise and brilliant ‘thinking outside the box’ is driving his (and America’s) ENEMIES WITHIN and America’s FOREIGN ENEMIES absolutely insane. When his vision begins to become reality to improve that hellhole, it should also include the IMMEDIATE DEPORTATION (IF NOT MUCH SOONER), of ALL the evil America-hating, Hamas-loving, Israel-despising protesting scum that do nothing but spread hatred and destruction.
Get real. Those terrorists were offered their own state by Israel years ago and turned it down because they want ALL of Israel. They have caused trouble every where they have been. And let’s not forget how they danced in the streets over 9/11 and our towers falling down. They make cartoons for the kids to watch to teach them to hate Jews and Christians and learn how to kill them. They destroy everything they touch.
They are NOT our problem and if we get in the middle of this mess Americans are going to die for nothing. Israel has the right idea, wall them in and let them kill each other. As for Oct. 7, they haven’t even begun to pay for that and trading a handful of hostages for hundreds of terrorists is not the answer unless it’s a temporary thing and once you get all the people back you blast them from the earth.
They are terrorists! They like it that way and they want to destroy Israel and the USA.
The problems that exist in Gaza have been happening in Gaza for decades and the same actions continue to fail. Time to deal with that and make the necessary changes.
Rebuilding Gaza under the current atmosphere is a waste of resources. No current Country wants anything to do with the Palestinians being temporarily moved to their Country. Gee, I wonder why? It’s time to think outside of the box. What has been tried repeatedly does not work, peace is not what the Palestinians want. No other Country will take them because how do you deal with generations of Palestinians who are full of hate. They are jealous of what Israel has done to improve their Country.
Before any substancial progress can be made the terrorist war criminals have to be delt with.
A very informative article. Thank you Mr. Samuel for providing in-depth exploration on this important topic.
Thank you for your insight. You have a deep understanding and I feel like I now can watch this unfold with clarity.
And the first thing to be done is eliminating Hamas & the other Iran-sponsored groups warring against Israel. Trump’s reinstituting limits on Iran was a big step because now Iran won’t have the means to support Hamas, Houthies and/or other rogue groups in the Middle East.
Hopefully as those groups are eliminated, other Middle-eastern nations will be more willing to allow the resettlement of Palestinians within their borders.
Trump is forcing everyone to think like adults. The Democrats cannot handle it. They are so far from adulthood and Sanity it is scary. Everything they believe is wrong.
This is also a question for Elon Musk’s DOGE team, that is, how much money should we include in next year’s budget to both rebuild Gaza and to resettled its inhabitants during the rebuilding process ?
Trump, unlike his detractors, deals with REALITY! That’s why he relocated our embassy to Israel’s ETERNAL capital, Jerusalem. There will NEVER be a two-state solution so let’s deal with reality! If the “Palestinians” [made up term] want a better place to live, expel Hamas and other terrorists and go along with Trump’s idea to tear down the rubble and start from scratch in Gaza. Problem? Their “brothers” in the Arab countries don’t WANT them, even temporarily! Why? Because everything they do is based on HATE!
International World Court, where are the warrrants for the apprehensions and prosecutions of all the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah? This conflict has always been a concern for world organizations. They should step up, take responsibility and get this problem resolved—for the benefits of the people, not their so-called “leaders” and militants. Oh, and pay for it, also.
If the Trump approach leads to success, the Dems will claim credit for it. It’s just how they roll. Ask John Kerry — where is he, anyway?
Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Donald Trump is the right person to lead us during this time, as he has somehow managed to keep his sanity.
An awesome example of out of the box thinking; a long-term step for peace that I hope to see in my lifetime.
No country wants Palestinians because they’re troublesome Islamic radicals. They support Hamas, Hezbollah and all other radicals because they hate Jews because their religion tells them to do so. Ship them all into the Sahara Desert and let them fend for themselves.Make Gaza into a resort for ALL nations as REAL President Trump has siggested.
It is not Gaza as a territory that is the problem, occupants of Gaza are and will be no matter what the name of the settlement is.
Excellent article. That was the exact reaction and thoughts I got when Trump announced this. The world has to look at the Middle East in a different way. For the conflicts that arise every 10 years or so is the worlds conflict as well. And like Mr Samuel says these peace agreements last till the next conflict. It never solves it for good. Of course Europe is up in arms. After all they are pro Hamas. The rich Arab states are also pulling back and don’t want to be involved. But like Trump said it is for the people because it is always the people that suffer when their leaders go to war. Thinking outside the box is genius. Only the mind set of those that start these wars their hatred for Israel is so deep Hamas, Hezbollah, the ayatollahs in Iran, have fought the Jews for centuries, it will be difficult to see Trump’s vision. Trump loves people, he hates war. But the mistrusts in the Arab world of America and the rest of the World is hard to get undone. Like the slavery question here in the US. It never is totally resolved. There will always be bigots, racists. It has to start with the people. Mistrust has to be unlearned. And that is the biggest obstacle in the Middle East. Actually all over the world. We only have to look at us here in the US. The dems do nothing but spreading mistrust and lies to keep the power. Not doing what is good for the country and its people. Power is the devil and war is prosperity for the powerful.
For me, the underlying issue is one that has stood the test of time…hatred via religious venues. Non-Jews who hate Jews and Jews who hate non-Jews. Ask the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. Read about them and their past and their history over the generations and how they act with one another today. Every one claims the right. This ongoing conflict will endure to the last day. Our best action is to control things as best we can for the sake of all, be they Jew, Muslim, gentile or infidel. We won’t stop their hearts and minds from hatred. It’s an infection of the soul that every human possesses. All of us! Trump might be able to stir the pot and get people to look up and maybe even change somewhat, but the underlying hatred won’t be held at bay for long. Don’t expect any of these groups to weaken in their resolve to kill their enemies. They might fall silent for a while, but you can rest assured fires will flare up….again. My perspective alone.
Both USA & ISREAL leaders are appointed by THE LORD ON HIGH. they need to do what HE is telling them
The real problem in dealing with Islamic countries is that under the Quran, Muslim has to honor Muslims with whatever treaties are negotiated. With “Infidel” countries, however, any treaty negotiated and signed, can look real for a time, but the Muslims can throw the treaty away when the time suits their agenda. The Muslims will just put up a show, then attack when they have the advantage. DON’T BE FOOLED, IT WILL BE A LONG TIME BEFORE PEACE IS ACHIEVED IN THE REGION.
They do not want peace, neither do they want a “two-state solution”. I’ve seen childrens books for sale at a Toys-R-Us store in Bahrain that had antisemitic, anti-Israeli themes; there nightly news refers to Israel as the “occupation”! They want the annihilation of Israel; period. Its like expecting positive outcomes putting the aviary in the middle of the weasel pen at the zoo! There’s no other outcome posible… they’re weasels!
Trump says and does things that forces people and leaders to come out from under their rocks and have real conversation to try and find solutions to problems. Where have all our politicians’ ideas been and where has the rest of the world leaders been. Actions always speak louder than words and Trump has no problem with taking action, so for all those who don’t like his actions they need to present their ideas/solutions. As the saying goes lead, follow or get out of the way. IMO
President Trump is genius in his outside the box thinking and his courage to share his thoughts with the world. He’s always about sticking himself out there and we who love him are afraid for him Trump will go down in history as the most creative and forward-thinking leader that this century, at least, has ever had.
As for Gaza, I’ve been shouting to anyone who would listen that if Gaza’s put their mind to peace and turning their area into a tourist attraction (it could be beautiful on the sea and so well-located, they would have an endless flow of money and jobs — and may even enjoy it! So when Pres. Trump suggested it, I practically shouted YES!
The crucial thing is to get all the ARab countries on board with the idea. Israel already is.And second, to destroy the brainwashing hate the Palestinians are taught daily 24/7 from cradle to grave so they can flourish with a sense of freedom and peace with their neighbors. Israel gave up Gaza almost 20 years ago and would like nothing more than for Gaza to flourish under Gazan rule. THAT may be the most difficult job of all given the terrorist groups who are making so much money off their hate.
The root cause of the hatred and bitterness is a condition of the heart and will never be addressed by a treaty or government. That being said, if those who promote the killing and hatred refuse to change, they must be eliminated one way or the other. When the people of the country can rule themselves with a goal of peace and not be ruled by Hamas and hatred, things will change.
Trump proposed a NEW SOLUTION to the Israel/Palestinian situation. He’s the ONLY one with the vision and know how to create a better place for Palestinians (which they really ARE NOT) and others to live in peace. There will NEVER be a solution without NEW tactics. Palestinians are a rag tag group of people who wandered in the area for thousands of years. God gave Palestine to the Jewish People. Israel left GAZA in 2005 and what did the so called Palestinians do? Radical Iranian backed terrorists ruined the area. Many people there support Hamas no matter what. HAMAS has to be utterly destroyed and Iran’s ability to fund terror PERMANENTLY ENDED. Iranian people want freedom, yet many times they have risen up, European countries and the US did nothing to foment their possible success in toppling Dictatorship HAMAS and other terrorists funded by Iran. Cut off the head of the Snake — Iran Mullah’s and funding and there may be a chance for Iranians to have freedom. Trump’s proposal should go forward and be seen for what it is — a revolutionary new approach to an old problem that will never end unless something NEW is tried like President Trump has so Brilliantly proposed.
What I like to see done with Gaza is lets move the United Nations right in the middle of Gaza!! that would put a stop to alot.
As I age, I recall these issues becoming a firestorm every so often. The writer of this article is right, no one really wants Gaza. It was convenient when, years ago, Israel had people in Gaza whether military or not. President Trump once again just used common sense and smacked the world in the face with it. Maybe, every nation in the Middle East should take an equal number of the “Gazan’s”? This way, there aren’t too many of them in one nation and should keep them from creating problems for the host nation. Anyone that decides to stay in Gaza will become a “founding citizen” of this “new” state. Then, maybe, President Trump and/or other world leaders can turn it into a tourist destination as President Trump has alluded to. Hey, we can all dream, can’t we? Lol. I pray that this gets resolved once and for all…….peacefully, forever.
Donald Trump should realize that Gaza was part of Israel 20 years ago before they pulled out and gave it to Hamas. Instead Donald Trump should work with Israel to move ALL Palestinians in Gaza out of there and move them to a new homeland like Box Elder County in Utah to Box Elder County Utah for their forever security. From there Donald Trump can work with Israel for them to restore this land. He should NOT take over Gaza. A new Palestinian homeland in the West Bank is the only small possibility if it is so. Otherwise two separate lands: Gaza and West Bank don’t work together.
For decades it has been “business as usual” in the middle east. It is hard to overcome the tremendous hate and need for revenge inbred through the generations. It is essential to “think out of the box” for solutions. Affluent Arab states need to step up and take possession of the area and develop it for Tourism to take advantage of the beautiful access to the sea, bringing jobs and homes to the displaced residents.
OK, but let’s take care of America first – The west coast and east coast have been devastated with wild fires and weather disasters. Let’s take care of our own people first. And if we can do that in a realistic way then we can address Gaza. Tell me what we’re doing today to help our people and what are we doing to update our infrastructure. Let’s put America first for a change….
I generally disagree with the point that there is no solution. The solution would be to support the people living in Gaza with humanitarian and military support. Encourage them to expose the terrorists who are hiding among them, and end the conflict. President Trump’s statements and questions have pointed to this. With just a bit of money and a multinational security force, the terrorists could be driven out. Of course, this requires the acceptance and cooperation of the people who live in Gaza. If they don’t cooperate, they will perish like the pawns they are.
The Palestinians can’t seem to build an economy and prosper anywhere they have been or go to. They seem to want to fight and kill people. Gaza would be better off turned into a few 18 hole golf courses and resorts.
The idea makes sense but my question is, if America owns Gaza, how much will we spend on the people that don’t leave? We have hungry and homeless Americans here.
We should keep out of the area entirely. No more funding. No more weapons. Much of it is little more than money laundering. America First. Everyone else Last.
Just don’t bring them here.
“The Gazans are generational fanatics devoted to reclaiming their historic patrimony” is a post-cold war shibboleth providing cover for a crooked arrangement on the level of “the Germans are just super-savers”, appears.
Gaza can never be an independent state. It has always been a mistake and always will be. It must become effectively governed by Israel or there will never be peace, but the US should not be involved in the fantasy that it can be independent of Israel.
Been watching this issue bounce by Arafat, now a political group “Hamas”. I truly wish for peace in this region !
If Israel does not want Gaza, why does it lust after Gaza’s resources? Since Israel has destroyed Gaza, why should the Arab countries pay for the reconstruction of Gaza? Israel should pay for it. Israel wants the US to bear the cost of removing the rabble Palestinian squatters and all the rubble that Israeli bombs have caused, turning it into a resort area for rich Jews, and then giving it to Israel.
What would have been the reaction if Biden’s puppet masters had offered the same approach as Trump’s?
Gaza Reuse Problems:
Hamas
Palestians
Otherwise Yes
Radical idea
And this is absolutely F- BS . Just IF …the delusional Trump ( or what ever drug he is on like zio jew one) is honest (hahaha) the very first thing he need to address is SUPPLYING ENDLESS $$$ to Zio state Israhell .
It would be IMMEDIATE end of fighting because the zio scum are covards who without the millions a day from us the USA would NOT start any problems with the neighbors.
That guy Walter Samuel is zio jew . Obvious from his comments on the subject Palestine versus Israhell. Lots of nonsense and pure BS in his article.
and in the responses here as well. Sad to read it
Anyone who wishes to solve this problem peacefully need to acknowledge :
Oppressed has the inalienable right to fight the oppressor by any means available and as long as necessary to regain back its freedom and sovereign status.
There is no other peaceful way to solve this problem if there is no will to admit the above sentence.
Have a good day
Equality and integration are in order, just like the Civil Rights movement in the US.