Back in 2010, New York Times columnist and faithful Zionist Thomas Friedman complained: “Destructive critics dismiss Gaza as an Israeli prison, without ever mentioning that had Hamas decided - after Israel unilaterally left Gaza - to turn it into Dubai rather than Tehran, Israel would have behaved differently, too”.
The dubious merits of Dubai aside, Friedman himself never managed to mention that the purpose of Israel’s not-really-withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 was, as then-Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon’s own senior adviser put it, the “freezing of the peace process” and “prevent[ing] the establishment of a Palestinian state”.
Nor did the columnist care to devote much thought to the fact that Israel’s “behaviour” has often consisted of bombing Palestinians to smithereens, or that it’s not quite possible to build Dubai while under brutal military occupation and siege.
Now, nine years after the Friedmanian prescription for Gaza, we’ve got another, higher profile non-solution to the Palestinian question - this one courtesy of the nepotistic administration of Donald Trump and specifically his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Kushner’s recently unveiled economic plan, titled "Peace to Prosperity", purports to offer “a vision to empower the Palestinian people to build a prosperous and vibrant Palestinian society” and to “realise an opportunity to pursue their dreams”.
Never mind that the Palestinians themselves are not on board; after all, Arabs cannot possibly understand their own best interests without some guidance. Luckily, thanks to a Western habit called Orientalism, Kushner & Co can totally read their minds. READ MORE AT MIDDLE EAST EYE.