U.S. President Donald Trump’s vision of a Gaza Riviera is unlikely to come to fruition if Hamas remains in power, according to Dr. Eric Mandel, founder and director of the Middle East Political and Information Network (MEPIN).
Speaking on ILTV’s Insider, Mandel said that as soon as the first body bags of American soldiers or contractors return home, the United States will lose its appetite for intervention. He emphasized that the key to peace in Gaza lies with Israel.
“This is not something that will take days or months,” Mandel said about transforming Gaza from a terror enclave into a stable place to live. “This is years upon years before this situation can change and not one grain of concrete should come in until Hamas is gone and there is an effective group there.”
Is that group the Palestinian Authority? Mandel said he does not think so.
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The U.S. government also seems to share that skepticism.
Over the weekend, Washington announced that PLO and PA leaders would not receive visas to attend the United Nations General Assembly next month. The session is expected to include a two-state solution conference, during which several European states are likely to announce support and recognition for a Palestinian state.
Ruthie Blum, senior correspondent for JNS, argued that the timing of America’s announcement was deliberate.
“If there hadn't been this whole carry on about recognizing Palestinian statehood by all these anti-Israel governments, I don't think that the Trump administration would have bothered with the ban,” she said. “You could argue about whether this is a national security interest or not, but what I say is kudos to President Trump. Why? Because this is a signal not just to the Palestinian Authority … it's a signal to the European countries.”
Blum added that Trump is warning European states that they cannot make symbolic gestures like recognizing a Palestinian state and expect no consequences.
“Trump is saying America is the only country right now that counts, and America is on Israel's side,” she said.
However, Dan Perry, the former Cairo-based Middle East editor and London-based Europe/Africa editor of the Associated Press, said that “this is one of those cases where more or less everybody's wrong.”
He argued that both the Trump administration and Israel are making a mistake by equating the PA with Hamas. At the same time, the European countries are wrong for recognizing a Palestinian state.
“This is very bad for Israel to go down this path. It's untrue, and it closes off Israel's only path to eventually separating from the Palestinians, which is indeed to reach an accommodation of the Palestinian Authority,” Perry said. “Moreover, it won't change the recognition drive, which I, like Ruthie, think is mistaken, because it'll strengthen Hamas. And strengthening Hamas is the best way to avoid a Palestinian state, because Israel will never take the risks needed to disengage the West Bank if it might entail a Hamas takeover and a do-over of October 7 from the more strategic West Bank.”
At the same time, Perry said he does not believe that blocking Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from attending the General Assembly will prevent countries from recognizing Palestine.
Blum countered Perry by saying that the difference between Hamas and the PA is like the difference between Jack the Ripper and the Boston Strangler.
“We think that strangulation is less problematic. There's less blood, etc.,” Blum said.
She added that Palestinians in the West Bank were raised on textbooks and in mosques that glorify killing Jews and martyrdom.
“They're still funding terrorism and terrorist families,” Blum continued. “They honor martyrs all over Judea and Samaria. The PA sports arenas are named after terrorists… There is no chance for a two-state solution. And they don't want a state. They just want to destroy the State of Israel.”
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INSIDER 02.09.25
