Palestinians in Gaza remain determined to rebuild their seafront restaurants and hotels, rejecting US President Donald Trump’s vision of transforming the enclave into a “Riviera of the Middle East” under US control.
After 15 months of Israeli military operations that have wrecked much of Gaza’s infrastructure, residents here are determined to revive the local tourism industry that had thrived along the Mediterranean coast despite years of blockade.
“There is nothing that cannot be repaired,” said Assad Abu Haseira, a restaurant owner in Gaza. He vowed to start serving food again even before fully reconstructing his establishment. “Trump wants to change Gaza’s history, but we remain Arab, and our history will not be replaced,” he asserted.
Another restaurateur, Mohammed Abu Haseira, echoed the defiance, “Why demolish the existing business to build under foreign control? The restaurants and hotels were here before why demolish them just to create new ones?”.
Gaza, once a hotspot for Israeli tourists, continued to host a lively beachfront scene even after Hamas seized power there in 2007. Trump’s plan, a variation of a previous scheme by his son-in-law Jared Kushner, would involve ridding the area of its Palestinian population and replacing it with an upscale international resort.
International condemnation over the move hit fever pitch with opponents branding it as an act of ethnic cleansing and a violation of international law. Gazans have also rejected the idea vehemently, pledging to stay on their land and rebuild from the ruin.
To many Palestinians, the Trump vision harks back to the 1948 “Nakba,” or catastrophe, when 700,000 Palestinians were displaced during the creation of Israel. Today, they renew their commitment to staying and rebuilding their homeland.