Thursday, May 29, 2025

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A Solution for Gaza and Palestine in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative

The situation in Gaza

Based on the concept of "peace through development", where there is no peace without development and no development without peace, and where the two issues must go in parallel, Hussein Askary writes in a guest analysis.

Published 28 February 2025
Schematic description of the Oasis Plan with water (blue) and transportation project (red). To the right: infrastructure map - West Asia connectivity plan.

The absurd statements made by U.S. President Donald Trump on relocating the Palestinians from Gaza, followed by the insults directed by Benjamin Netanyahu to some important Arab countries, have opened a window of opportunity for the Arab countries and the Global South to put forward an alternative plan that is realistic, humanitarian, and compatible with international law to save the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, resolve the Palestinian issue, and establish peace and development in the West Asian region (erroneously called the Middle East).

But this requires guarantees and cooperation from international powers, most importantly the US Administration, but not alone. China, Russia, the BRICS countries, that were joined this year by Egypt, the UAE, Iran and Ethiopia (and potentially Indonesia), and many other countries in the Global South have risen economically, militarily and politically today.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently recognized that the era of unipolarity is over and has been replaced by an era of multipolarity. This historical fact must be exploited by Arab countries, not to play the East against the East, but to build bridges through Arab countries between them.

First, it is imperative to uphold the two-state solution and the right of the Palestinian people to establish their own state with East Jerusalem as its capital on Palestinian lands in accordance with UN Resolution 242 of 1967 and the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002. However, for this state to be sustainable, there must be an economic policy for reconstruction and development and to compensate the Palestinian people and their younger generations for the tragedies and horrors they have faced so far.

The gates of humanitarian relief must be opened immediately to prevent hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza from dying of hunger, immunodeficiency and infectious diseases due to water contamination and lack of sanitation and health care.

Perhaps this is what the extremist Israeli government is counting on to drive the Palestinian people out of Gaza voluntarily. We must remember what happened in Iraq after Desert Storm in 1991, where nearly one million Iraqis, half of them children, were killed not by Anglo-American bombing, but by the consequences of the destruction of basic infrastructure and the economic blockade that led to malnutrition and the spread of diseases.

Planen för återuppbyggnad av oasen Gaza
Schematic description of the Oasis Plan with water (blue) and transportation project (red).

The Oasis Plan

As for the long-term plan, we are pleased with the statements made by the Egyptian government that there are two plans that will be discussed with the Arab countries before the upcoming summit at the end of this month.

While we do not know the details of these plans, we would like to put forward a set of ideas within what we call the “Oasis Plan”, an idea launched by the late American economist Lyndon LaRouche in the 1970s and based on the concept of “peace through development”, where there is no peace without development and no development without peace, and where the two issues must go in parallel.

This is what did not happen in the Oslo Agreement, as the economic decisions in Annexes III and IV were neglected, albeit insufficient, and the focus was on political solutions only. This is what prompted LaRouche to predict the failure of the Oslo Accord and to warn of the role of the Israeli extreme right and its supporters from the Christian Zionist movements in the United States and Britain in destroying any foundations for peace and assassinating and imprisoning its advocates on both sides.

The Oasis Plan is to address the issues of water shortage and desertification in the region, the lack of modern basic infrastructure for development, and the lack of agricultural and industrial capabilities despite the existence of natural resources, geographical location, financial and human resources in the region but are unevenly distributed.

The plan sees the issue of reconstruction in Gaza, Palestine, and the entire region (especially Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen) in a larger context. It is not possible to find solutions to local issues whose causes are global.

The plan in its new form developed by this author and his colleagues at the Schiller Institute in the last two years evolves in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative or the New Silk Road and the connectivity of West Asia’s infrastructure and its utilization as a bridge between Asia, Europe and Africa on the one hand and the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean on the other.

This is done by building development corridors throughout the region consisting mainly of transportation lines such as railways, highways, water, electric power, oil and gas pipelines, and building new agricultural and industrial zones and cities on both sides of these development corridors, which will extend to Palestine (from Jordan to the West Bank, to Gaza, to the Mediterranean Sea, and from there to Egypt).

 

Infrastrukturkarta: Anslutningsplan för Västasien
Infrastructure map: West Asia connectivity plan.

Water and agriculture

The plan first aims to solve the issue of water shortage, underdeveloped agriculture and desertification. The amount of water naturally available in this part of the region, especially the Golan Hights, South Lebanon, and the West Bank, most of which is appropriated by Israel, cannot be relied upon, even if it were hypothetically divided fairly. There is a need throughout the region to increase the amount of water available exponentially, and this can only be done through seawater desalination.

There are two major projects for desalination:

First: Building two canals to the Dead Sea, one from the Red Sea and the other from the Mediterranean. The purpose of these two canals is not for maritime transportation, as is rumored, and they can be replaced by large diameter pipes. Rather, their purpose is to take advantage of the huge difference in elevation between the Red and Mediterranean Seas on the one hand and the Dead Sea on the other. The Dead Sea is four hundred meters below sea level. The rapid flow of water in the two channels sloping towards the Dead Sea can be used to generate energy for desalination and other uses.

Second: In the future, nuclear plants with small modular reactors could be built to desalinate water and produce electricity. Similar plants powered by either natural gas or nuclear power should be built in the future on the Mediterranean coast and along the Suez Canal as well.

Agriculture must be significantly developed, using modern irrigation and seed development techniques in the Palestinian territories and in neighboring Arab countries to achieve food security and economic, political, and stability because a large part of the Arab countries’ resources are wasted on importing foodstuffs.

Social and political shocks occur in Arab countries whenever there is a global crisis that leads to a rise in food prices, as happened in 2008 and 2009 and after the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022. Therefore, the cultivation and afforestation of dry and desert areas must be expanded throughout the Arab region.

Industries

Lyndon LaRouche proposed at an international conference on oil and gas in global politics in Abu Dhabi in May 2002 that oil-producing countries should build nuclear power plants both for water desalination and also to use their oil and gas resources for petrochemical, chemical and other industries that increase the added value of crude oil and gas exponentially.

A few years later, the UAE launched its own peaceful nuclear program and completed the construction of four large-scale nuclear reactors in cooperation with South Korea last year. Egypt is currently building the Dabaa nuclear plant in cooperation with Russia.

China’s industrial and technological progress has also enabled it to localize some advanced industries in Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. All Arab countries should build industrial parks and special economic zones, in addition to establishing industries in Gaza and the West Bank, taking advantage of their geographical location, availability of raw materials and labor, and proximity to markets.

The construction of a world-class port in Gaza, an airport, and rail and metro line should be implemented. The tunnel systems that were used for war fighting can be replaced by a metro system in time of peace.

Financing

We cannot rely solely on foreign aid to sustain the economic situation of the Palestinian people and their future state. The Oasis Plan includes the establishment of an Arab or regional development bank modeled after the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with a capital of $100 billion.

The Arab countries should collectively establish such a bank. Its purpose would be not only to issue low-interest, long-term credits to finance basic infrastructure projects throughout the region, especially in Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, but also to provide financial leverage for national development banks to be established, such as the Palestinian Development Bank (which was envisioned in the Oslo Accords but has not been established).

National banks would be able to finance local projects for housing, agriculture and industry. This would save poor Arab countries and the Palestinian people from relying on foreign aid with strings attached including political concessions.

Funding could in addition be obtained from the AIIB and through bilateral “oil-for-construction” and “oil-for-technology” agreements, where a small portion of the region’s oil and gas exports (5% to 10%) could be used to finance the proposed Arab Development Bank and to obtain bilateral credits from oil and gas importing countries such as China, Japan, Korea, India, and European countries and utilize these credits in infrastructure, industry, and agriculture projects. We have explained this in detail in a previous article.

How can Gaza be rebuilt without relocating its population?

There are many simple solutions, but they need good organization and joint funding. For example, Asian countries, including China, have the capacity to manufacture small prefabricated mobile houses the size of a typical shipping container cheaply and quickly.

The Palestinian people in Gaza cannot continue to live in tents without experiencing all sorts of health, psychological and social issues. Communal sanitation facilities could be built around clusters of such housing along Gaza’s coastline, supplied with water, electricity and sewage treatment via floating power and desalination plants that are available in many parts of the world or can be built quickly. Likewise, field hospitals and schools must be built.

The Oasis Plan is a plan that, although it is regionally comprehensive and needs global consensus, is capable of finding solutions to even local and national issues. Its details can be expanded upon in collaboration with local planners and engineers to adapt it to the local situation of each region and country.

Our purpose in proposing the Oasis Plan is not to design precise policies for each country, but to develop a general but scientific and conceptual framework that reflects the economic, technical and political developments in today’s new world.

 

Hussein Askary
Vice-Chairman of the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden

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European diplomats forced to flee Israeli shelling

The situation in Gaza

Published 23 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Stock image - Israeli snipers in the West Bank.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has demanded that those responsible be “held accountable” after Israeli soldiers opened fire near a diplomatic delegation during a recent visit to the Palestinian city of Jenin in the West Bank, with several EU countries now demanding immediate explanations from Israel.

The delegation, which according to the Palestinian Authority included diplomats from the EU, France, Britain, Italy, Canada, Russia, China, Denmark, and other countries, had visited a refugee camp in Jenin when several shots were fired. No one was injured, but video footage shows delegates being forced to flee and seek shelter during the shooting.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry claims that the delegation left an “approved route” and was in an area where they “were not authorized to be”. The statement on social media claims that the soldiers fired “warning shots” to disperse the group.

Critics, however, are skeptical of the explanation and that it would be reasonable or proportionate to start shooting at a group of diplomats instead of trying to communicate with them.

– Any threats on diplomats’ lives are unacceptable, Kallas said at a press conference on Wednesday. She emphasized that even so-called warning shots are considered gunfire and that those responsible must be “held accountable”.

“Unprovoked” attack

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) say they regret the incident and are launching an investigation. They promise to inform the countries concerned of the results, but at the same time do not acknowledge that their actions were wrong.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed that a French diplomat was at the scene:

– A visit to Jenin, in which one of our diplomats was participating, was fired upon by Israeli soldiers. This is unacceptable, he said, announcing that Israel’s ambassador in Paris had been summoned for talks.

The German Foreign Ministry also reacted sharply:

– It was a matter of luck that nothing worse had happened, they wrote in a statement describing the shots fired by Israeli soldiers as “unprovoked”. Minister Johann Wadephul has spoken with diplomats on the ground and is demanding an explanation from his Israeli counterpart.

Demanding “convincing explanations”

Belgium’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Maxime Prévot, confirmed that a Belgian diplomat was also in the group.

– Fortunately, he is all right. Belgium demands convincing explanations from Israel, he said.

A spokesman for the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry called the incident a “heinous crime” and accused Israeli forces of deliberately firing live ammunition at an accredited international delegation.

Images of the incident, published by the Palestinian Authority, show chaotic scenes with delegates running in panic while shots are heard in the background.

Belgium’s aid office bombed

The incident occurred just one day after Kallas announced that the EU would review its association agreement with Israel – an agreement governing political and economic cooperation – citing Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the humanitarian catastrophe that followed in its wake.

Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, wrote on social media that he too had summoned Israel’s ambassador to Rome to demand official clarification about the shooting in Jenin.

During Israel’s invasion and bombing of Gaza, a large number of journalists, photographers, aid workers, and UN personnel have been killed without any major consequences.

However, European diplomats and government officials have so far been relatively spared from the violence – even though the Israeli army bombed Belgium’s development aid office as recently as February this year. As far as is known, this incident did not lead to any significant consequences either.

Sources: US wants to expel Palestinians to Libya

The situation in Gaza

Published 18 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The US advises its own citizens against traveling to Libya - but at the same time, according to sources, it wants around one million Palestinians to be deported there.

According to multiple sources speaking to NBC News, Donald Trump’s administration is currently working on a plan to permanently relocate up to one million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya. However, the White House dismisses the claims as false and denies that any such plans exist at present.

The administration of former US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering permanently relocating up to one million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya, NBC News reports, citing informed sources. The White House denies that any such plan exists.

Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly said the US is ready to take control of Gaza and turn the area into a “Riviera of the Middle East”. However, the proposals have faced strong opposition from other countries in the region, who argue that they violate international law, threaten regional stability and undermine the right of Palestinians to remain on their ancestral land.

According to NBC’s sources, the White House is now “seriously” considering a proposal to relocate about half of Gaza’s population to Libya. In exchange for Libya agreeing to take in the Palestinians, the US is reportedly prepared to release about $30 billion in Libyan assets that were frozen more than a decade ago.

NBC says talks have already been held with the Libyan leadership, but it is not clear which of the country’s rival governments has been involved in the discussions.

Civil war and chaos

Libya has been in a state of chaos since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011. Today, the country is divided between two rival power centers: the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) and the UN-backed Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) based in Tobruk.

Notably, the leader of the SSA, Abdulghani al-Kikli – also known as “Ghaniwa” – was killed just last Monday, sparking violent clashes in the capital. The US State Department today advised its own citizens against traveling to Libya at all because of “due to crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict“.

The sources also state that Israel has been informed about the discussions between the US and Libya. However, no final agreement on a possible relocation of Palestinians has been reached yet and details on how or when such a plan could be implemented are described as “murky”.

A Trump administration spokesperson rejects the NBC reports as “untrue” and stressed that “situation on the ground (in Libya) is untenable for such a plan. Such a plan was not discussed and makes no sense”.

Trump wants to make Gaza an American “freedom zone”

The situation in Gaza

Published 15 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Many Palestinians are very hostile to the idea of Israel's main ally taking control of their homes.

Donald Trump has once again proposed that the US take control of the Gaza Strip and turn the entire area into a “freedom zone”.

However, what this would mean in practice for the population is highly unclear, and Palestinian activists emphasize that they have no interest in coming under US sovereignty.

During a visit to Doha, Qatar, Donald Trump reiterated his vision of the US “taking over” the Gaza Strip and creating a so-called freedom zone.

The statement comes in the middle of a regional tour and follows earlier heavily criticized proposals to transform Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East by moving the Palestinian population to neighboring countries and replacing them with “people from all over the world”.

– We are working very hard on Gaza and Gaza has been a territory of death and destruction, the president proclaimed, continuing:

– I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone.

Israel’s most important ally

He did not clarify exactly what a “freedom zone” means, nor has Trump previously provided details on how a relocation or reconstruction of Gaza would be carried out.

Qatar and Egypt, which are mediating in the war between Israel and Hamas, have seen peace negotiations stall in recent months, as large-scale displacement of Palestinians is rejected not only by the Palestinians themselves, but also by many Arab states.

Trump’s proposal raises questions about whether the people of Gaza have any interest in breaking Israeli occupation under American control. Since the outbreak of the war, over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed and most of the infrastructure destroyed, according to the UN. Many more have been injured or are missing under the rubble, and more and more voices are describing the situation as ongoing genocide.

Many Palestinian activists and outside observers point out that the US supports and has enabled Israel’s invasion, bombings, and war crimes, and that from a Palestinian perspective, it is hardly desirable for Israel’s closest ally, the US, to take control of the area.

Others emphasize that the Palestinian people want and have the right to independence and self-determination and to rule over their own territory without having to submit to either Israel or the US.

Journalist asked critical questions about Israel – banned from Eurovision

The situation in Gaza

Published 15 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Journalist Szymon Stellmaszyk, banned from Eurovision 2025.

Polish journalist Szymon Stellmaszyk has been denied accreditation for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Basel. He believes this is due to a critical question he asked Israeli artist Eden Golan last year – something the EBU denies.

Szymon Stellmaszyk has covered the Eurovision Song Contest for 20 years and runs both the Facebook page “Let’s talk about ESC” and the industry website “Radio Newsletter”. This year, for the first time, he has been denied accreditation to cover the contest in Basel.

The background, according to Stellmaszyk himself, is a critical question he asked Israel’s contestant, Eden Golan, during Eurovision in Malmö last year. He asked whether Golan, given the political situation and the war in Gaza, thought her presence could pose a security risk to other participants and the audience.

The question attracted attention and was criticized by some, but Stellmaszyk emphasizes that it was not intended to be offensive or “anti-Semitic”. In an email to Stellmaszyk, which the Swedish state broadcaster SVT has seen, the EBU justifies its decision by saying that the platforms Stellmaszyk uses do not have sufficient reach.

“Restriction”

Szymon Stellmaszyk himself is convinced that the EBU is making excuses and that it is in fact about the question he asked last year.

– This is some kind of revenge and, in practice, a restriction of freedom of expression, he says.

It should also be noted that this year’s EBU media handbook contains a new rule stating that published content must be “respectful” towards Eurovision and the EBU. Eurovision boss Martin Green says the wording is unfortunate and promises that it will be reworded for next year.

At the same time, he does not want to comment on individual cases, but points out that there are a limited number of places for journalists.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be held in Basel, Switzerland.

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