Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, offered his own solution to the bloodshed and mass displacement in Gaza: some good, old-fashioned real estate development.
during interview With Tariq Massoud, faculty chair of Harvard's Middle East Initiative, Kushner proposed moving the Palestinians to the barren desert area of Israel in order to “clean up” Gaza's “valuable” waterfront.
“Waterfront real estate in Gaza could be of great value — if people focus on building livelihoods,” Kushner said, without clarifying who specifically would benefit from such a project. He added that the region could have had great potential if “all the money” in Gaza had gone to “education and innovation”, rather than the network of tunnels and munitions.
Kushner's statement comes in the wake of UN warnings that Gazans face “imminent famine” as Israel continues its offensive.
Kushner proposed displacing the remaining Palestinians from the “valuable” waterfront, and dropping them into the Negev Desert.
“I was just going to bulldoze something in the Negev, and I would try to get people out there, and I know that wouldn't be a common thing to do, but I think that's a better option to do, so you can go in and finish the job,” he said. Jewish Virtual Library He describes the Negev as “extremely hot” and “full of dirt, rocks and ravines, which are no less dangerous” than sand dunes.
When asked about concerns about preventing Palestinians from returning to Gaza, Kushner said: “I'm not sure there's much left of Gaza at this point.”
Kushner explained that he does not know whether Israeli officials are seriously considering displacing Palestinians to the Negev.
“I'm sitting in Miami Beach right now, and I look at the situation and think: What would I do if I were there?” Kushner said.
When asked whether Israel should allow the establishment of a Palestinian state, Kushner said it was a “very bad idea” and would “essentially reward an act of terrorism.”
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