WATCH: Former US Ambassador Optimistic about Gazan Relocation, Says Israel Should Control Gaza

“Nobody is going to invest a billion dollars into Gaza if the municipal services are being controlled by the PA or Hamas, or any other Arab group,” says David Friedman.

By Ben Rappaport, United with Israel

Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said that President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Gazans was both an important and a viable step, objections from Arab countries notwithstanding.

“At the end of the day, when there is an immediate need to relocate a million and a half Arabs living in Gaza, I think it can be done,” he said in conversation with Alex Traiman, CEO of Jewish News Syndicate (JNS).

Friedman added that relocation was important both in order to end the war and to “rejuvenate the region.”

“Not only is that the best way to stabilize the region, I think it’s the only way to prove with finality that Hamas lost,” he said, noting that Hamas perceives victory and defeat as functions of territorial control.

“When Hamas no longer controls territory, there is no longer a Hamas,” Friedman said.

At the same time, he added, Israel is the only country that can control Gaza.

“Whoever invests the money in a hotel or condo will own that real estate. But someone’s got to police it, someone’s got to collect taxes, someone’s got to pick up the garbage, someone’s got to exercise the municipal and government services of the Gaza Strip. That has to be Israel,” he said.

“Nobody is going to invest a billion dollars into Gaza if the municipal services are being controlled by the PA or Hamas, or any other Arab group,” he added, noting that “Israel is the only functioning country that can actually do this.”

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