Ecoclub Focus™ - Tourism & Geopolitics from an ecosocialist perspective

After the meeting of the Arab League in Cairo, the adoption of the glossy "Egyptian plan" and the re-affirmation of the two-state solution, Trump's insulting displace-and-rebuild-as-Dubai proposal is hopefully no longer on the table, despite his renewed insistence. It probably never was, probably a bluff to emphasize various questions: how many funds are needed, who can contribute these and getting what (real estate, influence, shares?) in return and  what guarantees can they offer in relation to the security and the immediate needs of a destitute population, with 90% of buildings and infrastructure destroyed. The 5-year $53 billion plan is more or less a guesstimate as there is no time frame: the war has not yet ended, the ceasefire is just about holding, while there is a danger of the West bank becoming a new Gaza, as the Oscar-winning 'No Other Land' documents. What is not being discussed, however, is who is entitled to decide (and how) to rebuild Gaza. Ideally, the long-suffering 2.3m people of Gaza should be the ones to democratically decide which model and plan best meets their collective and individual needs, also with an eye on future economic and environmental sustainability. Are they interested in becoming an improved version of the infamous 'Trump Gaza' AI video? One of the elephants in the room is, of course, Hamas, who - from their point of view - have everything to lose, apart perhaps from their lives, by disarming and/or leaving. The Israeli government is both intent on eradicating Hamas and dismissive of a future role for the Palestinian Authority. As in the Ukraine, the end of hostilities may be far further than the Trump administration would have us believe with their smoke and mirrors. Elections should also be held in all these places at some point - you need a fresh mandate to sign complicated treaties - and these elections may produce dramatic government changes, in both Israel and the Ukraine.