Fair's fair: Trump's takeover of Gaza as a reality show. The era of colonialism might be returning where it ended, in the Suez Canal.
Donald Trump's sudden declaration about taking over the Gaza Strip shocked not only ignorant observers, but also his closest advisors. The head of the White House has nuclear warheads and the biggest army in the world behind him. He can take whatever he points at with the power of force. Although we are not used to this kind of imperialism, its return cannot be ruled out. What's unique is the idea to build a colony in the poorest region of the world. However, there is a fear that these grand plans are really just a reality show of a blonde old man in the White House. However, nothing is certain.
If Trump's USA were to establish a colony right in the Gaza Strip, it would probably be like commissioning trains with German citizens and settling them in the Czech borderlands. It seems like a figment of a rich imagination, but hard-working Germans might perhaps be able to tackle the structural problems of the places from which they were expelled after World War II.
Trump's argument leans on the idea of a beautiful holiday "riviera" in Gaza. In place, there are indeed two commodities for which people spend their savings and spend dozens of hours on a plane. Yes, there is sea and sand in Gaza. The difference between the plan to improve the Czech "Sudeten" by German citizens and Trump's embellishment of Gaza is that the USA is a real superpower that has real levers of power, which definitely does not apply to the relationship between the Czech Republic and Germany.
Nothing works in Gaza or the ideal place for the Riviera
Making Gaza a pseudo-colony of the USA looks a bit like a provocation from a television showman. Not least because military operations were taking place in Gaza during the clash of the British, French and Israeli alliance fighting over the Suez Canal. Although the units of the two old colonial powers successfully struck against the Egyptians, representatives of the USA and USSR raised their threatening thumbs and Great Britain and France withdrew their colonial tails.
The so-called Suez crisis probably made the thickest line under the colonial era of Europeans. In the same place, Trump could start a new colonial stage. Every day in the media reminds us that the US president is a businessman. He approaches this new venture cleverly, in Gaza there is one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, therefore according to Trump, the locals must first move out, so he does not have to colonize a location with such poor macroeconomic numbers.
"These are buildings that can collapse at any time. There are no engineering networks at all, water, electricity, gas, nothing functions there. Who knows what kind of disease may be festering there. So when the president talks about cleaning up, he talks about making it habitable there. And this is a long-term plan,"
Trump's advisor Steven Witkoff, who visited the site, commented on his findings from Gaza according to CNN.
Trump's reality show could feature a second Suez Canal
Anyone who would like to get a picture of how economically desperate the situation in Gaza is, just needs to watch the documentary Born in Gaza (2014) on Netflix. Even before the massive destruction of the war, the documentarians captured well that it's impossible to work in Gaza because there's simply nothing to work on. There is only sea and sand. With the Israeli army blocking access to the sea and sometimes bombing something, which is not conducive to attempts at agricultural production.
Where could Trump's business thrive in such a place? Trump could focus on the gas fields that are currently still underwater, or he could turn his colony into a base for a second Suez Canal. The Egyptians themselves already had plans for its construction. When the original canal was once purchased by the British, even though they initially protested against it, why couldn't Trump pull a similar stunt?
The American president praised himself for years by ending the nonsensical engagement of the USA in the Middle East. His proclamation about taking over Gaza was a 180-degree turnaround, so sudden that neither his advisers nor his Secretary of State Marco Rubio knew about it. He simply spat it out at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Everything is therefore "thoroughly planned".
Gaza is not supposed to be the only American colony. Trump also wanted to take over Panama and Greenland. Although the new president has only been in office for a short while, we've heard a number of bold statements. From a one-day dictator to ending the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. The takeover of Gaza is just the latest piece of the mosaic. So far, ambitious statements have only been toned down and accurately reflected the president's unpredictability. The world is increasingly watching Trump's plans as a comedic reality show.
Trump, however, still has plenty of time and can show a real revolution in American approach to foreign policy and turn it into blatant imperialism. We do not see into the future, but by looking into the past we can remind of what made the blond businessman famous before entering politics. Primarily by appearing on television screens in a business reality show.
Sources: author's article, commentary, ČRo, CNN
