A New Plan for Gaza Strip That Excites Leaders around the World
Mike Evans-Opinion : Nov 13, 2018
Charisma News
When I presented the project to the crown prince, I told him Jared Kushner was studying it. He said if Kushner was interested, he should contact him.
[CharismaNews.com] Over the past 30 days, I have presented a new plan to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump administration officials and European Union leaders, all of whom have received it with great enthusiasm. (Photo: The Ashqelon desalination plant in Israel/Wikimedia Commons)
The plan is based around a simple idea: Establish an Israeli desalination plant, built on Israeli land, funded by Saudi Arabia, the Europeans and others, that provides clean water to Gaza.
An economic team, including some of the top experts in regional cooperation, are still completing portions of the plan that has been 10 months in the making. After decades of discussions and plans, especially on solving the water problem for the Gaza Strip, I believe this plan is the most feasible and realistic.
The plan is based on the new atmosphere in the Middle East. I recently held several meetings with U.S. administration officials, leaders of numerous leading Middle East nations as well as global financial institutions and found that new regional developments under the leadership of President Trump has provided us with a unique opportunity.
Israel now is in a position to have workable relations with Gulf states. Their leadership and financial strength are a true and practical option for significant investment by both foreign governments and international financial institutions. Thus, what is being proposed is an American-Israeli-Egyptian sponsored effort to create water and energy infrastructure on the Israeli or Egyptian border with Gaza, in addition to sending (all or most of the output) of such facilities to Gaza. (In the past week a similar model with Qatar oil to Gaza worked).
Gaza has many challenges. Gaza's continuing and growing water and energy crises are well known. The population of the Gaza Strip is nearly two million, with a growth rate of nearly 3 percent per year and an unemployment rate of 40-plus percent (youth unemployment is nearly 60 percent). At the most basic level, there are simply not enough sustainable water sources in Gaza. Less than 4 percent of freshwater sources are drinkable. Finally, Palestinian leadership in Gaza does not engender confidence from international governments, and the overall economy makes investments by financial institutions nearly impossible.
My desire is that the administration would not make this a part of the peace plan. The plan is for the funds to be provided for the desalination plant, property, the ongoing supply of water and creation of a terrorism-free zone either on Egyptian or Israeli land to protect the plant.
The cost of the project should not exceed $500 million, and that should not to be part of a peace plan. The companies are ready and all that is needed is a compassionate "Yes" from Trump. The U.S. has gained over $200 million just from the funding cut to UNRWA, and there is no doubt the Europeans and Gulf States will donate.
When I presented the project to the crown prince, I told him Jared Kushner was studying it. He said if Kushner was interested, he should contact him.
We evangelicals who know Donald Trump know him to have a heart of compassion. Providing fresh water to children in Gaza is a basic human right that must transcend politics.
The Anchor investment for the project would be a desalination plant for producing 50-80 million cubic meters of water per year. This plant would be large enough to address more than 50 percent of Gaza's current drinking water needs. Egypt or Israel would provide the land and the pipeline to Gaza, and the U.S. and other donor countries would provide the construction capital and an annual subsidy for proper and actual delivery of water to Gaza... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here
Continue reading here.