President Trump’s Gaza Plan Might Just Work

Crazy like a fox. What better expression to describe Donald Trump? His detractors, of course, think he’s just crazy, and when I heard him propose his plan to create a new “Riviera” on the Mediterranean Sea, my jaw hit the floor too. Had he gone off the reservation? Then I gave it some serious reflection over several days and realized this daring plan might actually work. The “Riviera” isn’t the metaphor I would use, but rather a new “Switzerland of the Middle East.”

His proposal took me back to my prior life of investigating drug money laundering. Favored locations for this activity were financial havens, like the Cayman Islands and the Colon Free Zone in Panama. The trafficking organizations’ moneymen liked these locations because they tended to be free-wheeling financial centers that allowed for bank account anonymity, easy incorporation of shell companies, less stringent know-your-customers regulations, and so forth. But they were also terrific at attracting legitimate wealth and prosperity for the inhabitants.

Now, I am not suggesting that President Trump turn the Gaza Strip into a drug money laundering mecca. Rather, I am suggesting that if done properly, he could turn the Gaza Strip into a legitimate financial haven, with all the attendant prosperity that could benefit both Palestinians and the broader Middle East. Moreover, given the natural oceanside location with expansive beaches, he could turn it into a Caymans-like financial haven with resorts to attract tourism.

I sketched out for a friend a series of steps that would be necessary to create such a financial dynamo. Here goes:

1. First, and most important initially, secure the perimeter from external threats. Without this, the rest of the proposal is a nonstarter. Obviously, given its history and location, Gaza’s biggest challenge is terrorism. The Strip is 141 square miles. Twenty-five miles long and between 3.7 and 7.5 miles wide. A sizeable military force would be needed to make the area tight as a drum. Who would supply these forces? That would be up for negotiation. Both America and Israel have some of the best military forces and close protection capabilities in the world. Perhaps if America had enough potential return on investment in this project, it would be worthwhile to have the American military provide this function. Or better yet, a combined US-Israeli force.
2. Second, have an internal police force to make the place safer than Disney World. Who might do this? The British come to mind. Who doesn’t love British bobbies, after all? Yes, Britain has a bit of an unpleasant history there, from the Mandate for Palestine days. But those days are long gone, and their knowledge of the locale and people makes them all the better as candidates for internal policing. The British too could be offered incentives to provide this service.
3. Third, establish an administrative, legal, and regulatory regime conducive to individual freedom, the rule of law, and capitalism. English Common Law would undergird society. Many financial haven countries around the world, such as the British Virgin Islands and Belize, have enacted International Business Companies Acts, designed to make their countries conducive to international banking, foreign direct investment, and easy financial transactions. Make the place duty-free, like Panama’s Colon Free Zone. Have a de minimus or non-existent tax regime and rely instead on fees derived from banks and other financial services to meet administrative needs.
4. Fourth, encourage major Western banks to establish branches there. Surely, the mega-wealthy oil-rich Arab states would take advantage of that financial presence, as would Israel. The banks would be regulated enough to prevent the laundering of illicit money but loose enough to facilitate commerce. Hong Kong (pre-Communist Chinese takeover) comes to mind. Or Switzerland. Make the US dollar the Strip’s official currency.
5. Fifth, appoint an incorruptible government to run the place. The governing body, comprised of locals who agree with the overall capitalist vision, would have to be imposed, at least initially, by the United States. In time, as the economy of the Strip develops, peaceful Palestinian residents interested in taking part in a growing, prosperous, and safe new Gaza can be welcomed in.
6. Sixth, build a world-class telecommunications infrastructure, rivaling the best in the West, and a top-flight airport capable of handling international airlines.
7. Seventh, build high-quality residential buildings to house the local population, who will provide most of the labor for the businesses the plan envisions attracting.
8. Eighth, once all the above has been established, encourage resort developers, port developers, cruise lines, and others in the hospitality industry to invest in the Strip. Make it a tourist destination. This would also provide an income base for Palestinians.

This blueprint obviously would need adjustments, and negotiations among many parties (not least the Palestinians), and presents risks, both physical and financial. And after our experience in Iraq, few Americans are in favor of nation-building.

Nation-building, however, is not really what this is about, so much as city-building. Los Angeles has three times the area of the Gaza Strip and twice the population. The area is small enough that it could be secured, particularly given that it is surrounded by Israel on two sides, Egypt on a third side, and the Mediterranean Sea on the fourth. Israel and Egypt are strong US allies and have a vested interest in seeing a peaceful, prosperous Gaza Strip. Egypt and Israel are also beholden to the United States for the vast financial and military aid we have provided to them for decades.

So rather than creating a new “Riviera,” President Trump would be well to consider creating a new “Switzerland of the Middle East.” Given his extensive experience as a real estate developer, Trump sees the potential the land, location, and people there have to offer. He seeks a solution to what has been an intractable geopolitical problem. The poverty and desperation that the Palestinian people have seen over decades of failed policies on the part of their own governments and those of their neighbors and the West necessitate a new and completely different approach. We finally have a president with the vision and nerve to give it a shot.

***

William F. Marshall has been an intelligence analyst and investigator in the government, private, and nonprofit sectors for more than 35 years. He is a senior investigator for Judicial Watch, Inc., and has been a contributor to Townhall, American Thinker, Epoch Times, The Federalist, American Greatness, and other publications. (The views expressed are the author’s alone and not necessarily those of Judicial Watch.)