Aerial footage showed tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians carrying their belongings as they made their way along the seafront of Wadi Gaza, on foot, to the north of the enclave. https://t.co/4LnfclDDB3 pic.twitter.com/H31Zl3aSAF
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) January 27, 2025
They’re going home.
Judd Legum notes on BlueSky that Trump’s latest obscene comments about Gaza are actually all about:
On Saturday, Trump announced the he favored the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.
“You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” Trump said.
What is motivating this ugly proposal?
Follow.
The.
Money.
Trump discussed his vision for Gaza on his first day in office, suggesting Gaza could be an ideal for luxury redevelopment. “Gaza is interesting. It’s a phenomenal location. On the sea, the best weather, you know, everything’s good,” Trump said.
Trump said that Gaza has “really got to be rebuilt in a different way” and that he “might” be interested in helping.
In a 10/7/24 interview w/Hugh Hewitt, Trump expounded on his vision for Gaza as a luxury resort. “It could be better than Monaco… It has the best location in the Middle East.”
Trump’s policy of relocating Gazans and redeveloping the country matches a vision floated by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, last year.
Although not in the White House, Kushner continues to advise Trump and “has been advising Steve Witkoff… on his new job as special envoy to the Middle East.”
In a February 15, 2024, interview at Harvard’s Middle East Initiative, Kushner described Gaza’s “waterfront property” as “very valuable.” Kushner said Israel should seek to “move people out” and then “clean it up.”
Pausing here to say if you are interested in accountability journalism about this administration, don’t rely on an algorithm controlled by a MAGA billionaire who works for this administration
Kushner said that the US should pursue “diplomacy” with Egypt and Jordan to convince them to accept more Palestinians.
Kushner criticized Biden for not pressuring Egypt, Jordan, and other countries more aggressively to facilitate a “solution.”
That’s exactly what Trump says he’s doing now.
If Palestinians are removed from Gaza and the land is absorbed by Israel, both Kushner and Trump could benefit financially from its redevelopment.
Kushner just invested a portion of funds he collected from Saudia Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE to develop a new Trump Tower in Belgrade
The new hotel and residential tower is a partnership between the Trump Organization and Kushner’s Affinity Partners. It is located on a site that was bombed extensively by NATO in 1999 and has since been vacant. The Serbian government owns the property.
Isn’t that special?
There is zero doubt in my mind that Trump sees this as a real estate deal and that he and Kushner have dollar signs in their eyes. But they also want the Palestinians out completely. Kushner in particular seeks to ensure that there is no two state solution ever and they think they can get it done by throwing money around to the Arab states surrounding Israel. If they can make a profit at it all the better.