Transcript [00:00] Uh it was just over 100 days ago that we [00:01] got the final deal done and everyone was [00:03] celebrating and and joyous about the [00:05] hostages coming home and the end to this [00:07] long war that nobody thought was [00:09] possible. What do we do next? You know, [00:10] how do you implement peace? And as you [00:12] guys know, peace is a different deal [00:13] than a business deal because you're [00:15] changing a mindset. And in Israel, there [00:17] was two years of very intense war. For [00:19] the people in Gaza, there was more than [00:21] just two years of war. They had 20 years [00:23] of hopelessness being ruled by a [00:24] terrorist organization. For the people [00:26] in the Middle East, their hearts were [00:27] pulled by this. really thank you for the [00:29] leadership and the inspiration for doing [00:31] this and I think you'll see today we've [00:33] achieved more than thought was possible. [00:35] >> So Jared Kushner spoke at the World [00:38] Economic Forum Summit in Davos uh just [00:41] uh the other day and he unveiled the big [00:44] plan for the Gaza Strip. What is it [00:46] going to look like? This reconstruction [00:48] and turning it into this the new [00:50] Singapore of the Middle East and and [00:52] moving on to phase two of the Trump [00:54] 20point plan. And I have a lot to say [00:57] about Jared's presentation, but sure. [01:00] But first, let's watch it. You got to [01:02] take a look at what Jared lays out. This [01:04] is the big Trump vision for the Gaza [01:08] Strip. Have a look at this. [01:10] >> Thank you, Steve. And and I have to say, [01:12] one of the great honors for me of being [01:14] able to work on this has been working [01:15] with Steve, who uh really is a as as [01:18] brilliant as he is, his heart is is [01:20] tremendous. He's a lot of fun to be [01:22] with. And uh even in some of these, you [01:24] know, very difficult moments where we [01:25] didn't think things were happen, uh [01:27] working together really was an amazing [01:28] treat. Uh I'm going to go now today just [01:30] through a couple uh quick slides just to [01:32] show you the progress that's been made [01:33] in the last couple months. Uh it was [01:35] just over a 100 days ago that we got the [01:37] final deal done and everyone was [01:39] celebrating and and joyous about the [01:40] hostages coming home and the end to this [01:42] long war that nobody thought was [01:44] possible. And Steve and I were panicking [01:46] saying, "What do we do next?" You know, [01:48] how do you implement peace? And as you [01:49] guys know, peace is a different deal [01:50] than a business deal because you're [01:52] changing a mindset. And in Israel, there [01:54] was two years of very intense war. For [01:56] the people in Gaza, there was more than [01:58] just two years of war. They had 20 years [02:00] of hopelessness being ruled by a [02:01] terrorist organization. For the people [02:03] in the Middle East, their hearts were [02:05] pulled by this. And throughout the [02:06] entire world, it really was weighing on [02:08] us. And so we we needed to think about [02:10] what do we do next? How do we change the [02:11] habits? How do we change the behaviors? [02:13] And we really got to work right away. [02:15] and and the team that Steve thanked, [02:17] including the White House team and and [02:18] and the team, the volunteers, uh it's [02:20] really been an incredible effort, very [02:22] entrepreneurial, and we really did it in [02:24] the way I've been working now with [02:25] President Trump for uh 10 years on [02:27] politics. And what continues to amaze me [02:29] is that he always takes a first [02:30] principles approach and says, "What's [02:32] the most optimal outcome? Aim for that." [02:34] Whereas politicians are always focused [02:36] on the downside or what could go wrong [02:38] or how to make it a little bit better. [02:40] He always says aim for the best possible [02:42] and you know, do your best to get there. [02:43] And if everyone thinks it's impossible, [02:45] that's even more reason why you should [02:46] aim for it. And so really, thank you for [02:48] the leadership and the inspiration for [02:50] doing this. And I think you'll see today [02:51] we've achieved more than thought was [02:53] possible. And our ambition is still to [02:55] go for something I think better than [02:57] most people think is possible as well. [02:59] So [03:00] >> all right, before we go on with this and [03:02] and I do want to go on, uh there's I I I [03:06] want to just share an initial thought [03:08] here. So, [03:11] um, he talks about changing mindsets and [03:13] changing behaviors. And this really is [03:16] the root of everything that is, I [03:20] wouldn't say wrong, but bound to fail [03:22] about this plan that he's unveiling as [03:25] we're going to see, and we'll come back [03:26] to this point. But there is a belief by [03:29] Jared Kushner, by President Trump, and [03:32] frankly by most American leaders and [03:35] most Western leaders for decades that [03:38] with economics incentives and the [03:41] prospect of a better life, whatever, [03:43] however that's defined by the kind of, [03:46] you know, western material understanding [03:49] of human flourishing and prosperity, [03:51] that there's there's this belief that [03:52] that will work on jihadists in the [03:55] Middle East, that that's what they [03:57] actually want that that's more important [03:58] to them than their jihadist ideology. [04:01] We'll come back to this point later, but [04:03] I think that this is the root of the [04:04] problem. So, let's uh you know, let's [04:07] get back to this um let's get back to [04:10] this video here. Let's see if these [04:12] things work. They never usually work. [04:14] Good. Uh so, quickly, I'll go through [04:16] this two-year war, 90,000 tons of [04:19] munitions. Uh there's over 60 million [04:21] tons of rubble there. Uh and tens of [04:23] thousands of fatalities. Um through the [04:25] ceasefire we were able to get to uh [04:27] through the 20point plan ceasefire [04:28] release of hostages. Getting the UN [04:30] resolution passed was a huge huge [04:32] effort. Uh really thanks to Mike Waltz [04:34] and the whole team there. They did an [04:36] incredible job. Uh and we've then uh [04:38] with the help of the um of the UN, we've [04:40] worked very very well with them. This is [04:41] why you need a new organization like the [04:44] Board of Peace to work with the UN. I [04:45] want to thank Tom Fletcher uh did an [04:47] incredible job of really getting it [04:48] going. We've done historic humanitarian [04:50] aid going forward. Number one thing is [04:52] going to be security. Obviously, we've [04:54] been working very closely with uh with [04:55] the Israelis to figure out a way through [04:57] deescalation. Uh and the next phase is [04:59] working with Hamas on demilitarization, [05:01] which I'll talk about in a second. But [05:03] without security, nobody's going to make [05:04] investments. Nobody's going to come, you [05:06] know, build there. We need investments [05:08] uh in order to start giving jobs. We [05:10] want to take these people. 85% of the [05:12] aid of Gaza, 85% of the GDP of Gaza has [05:15] been aid for a long time. That's not [05:16] sustainable. It's it doesn't give these [05:18] people dignity. It doesn't give them [05:19] hope. And so, we want to use free market [05:21] economy principles. a lot of what [05:22] President Trump spoke about that he's [05:24] doing in America. We want to bring the [05:26] same mindset, the same approach to a [05:28] place like Gaza to give these people the [05:30] ability to thrive and have a good life. [05:32] So, uh, on the aid, I mentioned the UN. [05:34] Uh, so now people are talking about [05:36] famine. 100% of the of the of the food [05:39] needs are are met and that's been [05:40] overabundance. The the cost of goods [05:42] have gone down tremendously. Over 55,000 [05:45] trucks uh have gone in and over 1.4 [05:47] million pallets. So, it's been the [05:49] largest humanitarian effort done into a [05:51] war zone uh that anyone's been able to [05:53] tell us about. This really has been a [05:54] great joint effort that everyone's been [05:56] able to do and um and so it's a a great [05:58] thing. Uh we all just heard from Ali. We [06:01] >> a super quick comment. Uh the amount of [06:04] humanitarian aid that has gone in to the [06:06] kamas controlled area of the Gaza Strip, [06:09] it does not have anything to do with the [06:12] potential success of this rebuilding [06:14] Gaza plan. But, uh let's just get back [06:17] to it. might as well. [06:18] >> We have been so impressed. Steve and I [06:20] were were we're were we're were speaking [06:21] to him and the entire committee. Such [06:22] bravery of these people to uh to step up [06:25] and uh and we've worked with the [06:26] Palestinian Authority who's been helping [06:28] us as well. Uh but this committee is is [06:30] the first time technocratic a-olitical [06:32] committee. I really want to thank the [06:33] Arab partners for helping us select the [06:35] right people to do this and we just need [06:37] to believe in them and support them. I [06:39] put this up here. It's probably a little [06:40] too small for me to read, but this is [06:42] really important. If you saw the mission [06:43] statement, so Hamas's mission statement [06:45] was we need to destroy the state of [06:46] Israel. That has not worked well for the [06:48] people as we've seen. Their mission [06:50] statement is we are committed to [06:51] establishing security, restoring the [06:53] essential services that form the bedrock [06:55] of human dignity such such electricity, [06:59] water, healthcare and education as well [07:01] as cultivating a society rooted in [07:03] peace, democracy and justice operating [07:05] with the highest standards of integrity, [07:07] transparency. So these are the basic [07:09] things. Their goal is to have peace and [07:10] to help their people which is an obvious [07:12] mission statement for a government but [07:14] actually fairly novel uh for Gaza. So we [07:18] did a master plan. Uh we brought in I [07:19] think Gabbay who's one of the most [07:21] successful real estate developers and [07:23] brilliant people I know. He's [07:24] volunteered to do this not for profofit [07:26] really because of his heart. He wants to [07:27] do this and we've developed ways to [07:29] redevelop Gaza. Gaza as President [07:31] Trump's been saying has amazing [07:32] potential and this is for the people of [07:34] Gaza. We've developed it into zones. In [07:36] the beginning, we were toying with the [07:37] idea of saying, let's build a a free [07:40] zone and then we have a Hamas zone. And [07:41] then we said, you know what? Let's just [07:42] plan for catastrophic success. We Hamas [07:45] signed a deal demilitarized. That is [07:46] what we are going to enforce. People ask [07:48] us what our plan B is. We do not have a [07:50] plan B. Uh we have a plan. We signed an [07:52] agreement. We are all committed to [07:53] making that agreement work. There's a [07:55] master plan. We'll be doing it in [07:56] phasing. In the Middle East, they build [07:57] cities like this in, you know, two, [07:59] three million people. They build this in [08:01] three years. And so stuff like this is [08:03] very doable if we make it happen. [08:06] Uh Rothel will start with this will show [08:07] a lot of workforce housing. We think [08:09] this could be done in two three years. [08:10] We've already started removing the [08:11] rubble uh and doing some of the [08:13] demolition and then New Gaza. It could [08:15] be a hope. It could be a destination, [08:17] have a lot of industry and really be a [08:19] place that that the people there can [08:20] thrive, have great employment. Uh once [08:22] this starts going, we think there should [08:23] be 100% full employment and opportunity [08:25] for everybody there. And uh we have a [08:28] lot of data on what can be, but we think [08:29] that this really gives the Gazin people [08:31] an opportunity to to live their [08:33] aspirations. But it all starts with [08:34] security and it all starts with [08:35] governance. Final note I'll just say on [08:37] the board of peace which is that um all [08:40] the lessons we're doing is we're [08:41] basically studying the best practices [08:43] from all over the world and we're [08:44] watching who does education the best, [08:46] who does healthcare delivery the best. [08:47] All these things are are it's not uh [08:50] secret IP. All this is IP that the board [08:52] of peace is going to make public and we [08:53] want to encourage all the countries to [08:55] be able to follow these best practices. [08:56] A lot of the things that President Trump [08:58] is doing in America, if they're working, [09:00] we should all be copying them. If we [09:02] find what's working in other countries, [09:03] we should be copying them, too. And so, [09:05] what the Board of Peace will have the [09:06] ability to do if we're successful with [09:08] with Gaza is really show how do you do [09:10] peace implementation, which is something [09:12] that when we got this deal done, we [09:14] didn't really find too much expertise or [09:16] knowhow on how to do it. So, as we're [09:18] creating this system, hopefully it's [09:19] something that we can just document [09:20] these learnings and make them available [09:22] to all else who want to use them in the [09:24] future. So, uh demilitarization, this is [09:26] something we're starting now that we [09:28] have a new government in Gaza. This [09:29] government will be working with Hamas on [09:31] the demilitarization to really take um [09:33] uh the principles that were agreed to in [09:35] the document to the next phase. Um and [09:37] and hopefully that will be successful. [09:38] Without that, we can't rebuild. So, if [09:41] Hamas does not demilitarize, that will [09:43] be what holds back Gaza and the people [09:44] of Gaza from achieving their aspiration. [09:46] And that's very important. So, the next [09:48] 100 days, we're going to continue to [09:50] just be heads down and focused on making [09:51] sure this is implemented. we continue to [09:53] be focused on humanitarian aid, [09:55] humanitarian shelter, but then creating [09:57] the conditions to uh to move forward. Um [10:00] so, thank you. Uh final point I'll just [10:02] make is um this is really only possible [10:04] because of the work of so many people [10:06] and President Trump's great leadership. [10:08] Uh but a lot of you have been asking how [10:09] can how can we help? So, the countries [10:11] have all been incredibly generous. We'll [10:12] be doing uh the first conference uh [10:14] where we'll announce a lot of the [10:15] contributions that will be made uh in a [10:17] couple weeks in Washington uh from the [10:19] private sector. There'll be amazing [10:21] investment opportunities. I know it's a [10:22] little risky to be investing in a place [10:23] like this, but we need you to come take [10:25] faith, invest in the people, try to be a [10:27] part of it. And then finally, I'll just [10:29] talk to people on the media and on the [10:31] social media, which is um this deal only [10:34] happened because we worked with Israel, [10:36] we worked with Turkey, we worked with [10:37] Qatar, we worked with Saudi, we worked [10:39] with Egypt. I mean, everyone worked [10:41] together. We worked with UAE, we all [10:43] worked together to make this happen. I [10:45] see a lot of people trying to escalate, [10:46] you know, criticizing Israel or or [10:48] Israelis criticizing Turkey or Qatar. [10:50] just calm down for 30 days. I think that [10:52] the war is over. Let's do our best to [10:54] try working together. Our goal here is [10:56] peace between Israel and the Palestinian [10:58] people. Everyone wants to live [10:59] peacefully. Everyone wants to live with [11:00] dignity. Let's put our efforts towards [11:02] promoting those who are doing the work [11:04] to build this up like Ali and his [11:06] committee. Let's focus on the positive [11:08] stories and let's just calm down, turn a [11:10] new chapter, and if we believe that [11:12] peace is possible, then peace really can [11:14] be possible. So, we're going to continue [11:15] to work every day. We need all of your [11:17] help to do it. And again, I just really [11:18] want to thank President Trump for his [11:20] leadership in doing this. This would not [11:21] have been possible without your [11:23] commitment to this. Everyone thought it [11:24] was impossible to end this war. You [11:26] never gave up. You never stopped. Every [11:28] time there was a setback, you told us to [11:30] try harder. You gave us different ideas. [11:32] And uh we've made several impossible [11:34] things happen just in Gaza at a date. [11:36] And there's no reason why we shouldn't [11:38] be able to make even more impossible [11:39] things happen. So really, thank you for [11:41] your amazing leadership. [11:44] >> Okay, so let's talk about this. There's [11:46] um there's a lot to say here. You see, [11:50] this is pure delusion. Now, why is it [11:53] delusion? Am I being pessimistic? Am I [11:56] being a a naysayer raining on the [11:58] parade? Everyone wants peace. And don't [12:00] I want a better life for the Gazin [12:02] people? Of course I do. But here's the [12:04] problem. You see, I said at the at the [12:07] outset of this video that the big [12:09] mistake is believing that economic [12:11] incentives will moderate these [12:12] jihadists. And you see there this uh [12:15] these map this map of zones with [12:17] industry and nation building. These [12:20] people are not interested in industry. [12:21] Let me tell you a story. When Israel [12:23] pulled out of the Gaza Strip in 2005 and [12:27] evacuated entire Jewish communities and [12:29] just handed the whole thing over to to [12:32] the Arabs there, the Gazins, the [12:33] so-called Palestinians. When Israel [12:35] handed over the Gaza Strip, they decided [12:38] to leave behind to leave behind the [12:42] green houses and other uh structures [12:45] that were used for the Jewish industry [12:47] from the Jewish towns, the Jewish uh you [12:50] know, settlements and towns that were in [12:52] the Gaza Strip. They left it behind. And [12:54] do you know what the Gazins did with all [12:56] of the equipment and the green houses [12:59] that were left behind for them? They [13:02] burned it all to the ground. They burned [13:04] it all to the ground so that there would [13:06] be no trace of any Jews in the Gaza [13:08] Strip. These people are not interested [13:10] in prosperity. I'm you know just to [13:14] drill down further on this point. You [13:16] know Jared said there that this plan [13:20] gives the Gazen people an opportunity to [13:23] live their aspirations. Well, you know [13:26] what their aspirations are? There was, [13:29] excuse me, there was a um there's [13:32] polling done by a Palestinian polling uh [13:36] operation called the PCPSR. [13:40] Okay, here here it is. I'm going to pull [13:42] it up on the screen. The PCPSR [13:45] is the Palestinian Center for Policy and [13:49] Survey Research. Okay, that's that's [13:51] what it's that's what it's called. and [13:53] they and they're a Palestinian um yeah [13:56] the Palestinian company for polls and [13:58] survey research. That's what they are. [14:00] And they do polls every few months of [14:02] the Palestinians of the Arabs living [14:04] both in Judea and Samaria known as the [14:06] West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. And in [14:08] the polling, the most recent polling [14:10] they did in October, which is after the [14:12] Trump plan was announced, they pulled [14:15] the Palestinian people. And here's what [14:17] they found. They found that first of all [14:19] um a majority uh a majority of [14:22] Palestinians support Hamas's response to [14:24] the Trump plan. But listen to what they [14:26] mean by that. Ah here it is. Okay. So [14:30] let's see what's in this poll. The [14:31] public in both look at this bullet [14:33] point. The public in both the West Bank [14:34] and the Gaza Strip, but more in the [14:36] former is highly opposed to the element [14:38] in the Trump plan that demands the [14:40] disarmament of kamas in the Gaza Strip. [14:44] Even if this is a condition for the war [14:46] to not return to the Gaza Strip, [14:50] with opposition standing at 78% in the [14:52] West Bank and 55% still an overwhelming [14:54] majority in the Gaza Strip. Support for [14:57] disarming kamas stands at 18% in the [15:00] West Bank and 44%. So a minority of [15:04] gazins, these are the gazins who were [15:06] supposedly suffering so much. They are [15:08] opposed to kamas disarming. They are [15:11] opposed to kamas laying down its weapons [15:13] even if it means an end to war in the [15:18] Gaza Strip. This is what people like [15:20] Jared Kushner do not understand. So when [15:23] you say that this plan gives a uh gives [15:26] a chance to the Palestinians to live out [15:28] their aspirations, understand their [15:31] aspiration is to destroy Israel. They do [15:35] not want kamas to disarm. So if as Jared [15:39] Kushner says that kamas disarming is uh [15:43] is a prerequisite for everything else to [15:44] happen. In fact he even went on to say [15:46] this is an exact quote from that video. [15:48] If kamas will not demilitarize that is [15:50] what will prevent the Gazan people from [15:52] achieving their aspirations. This is [15:54] where Jared has it backwards. The [15:57] aspiration of the Gazan people is not [16:00] for kamas to disarm. Kamas disarming [16:03] does not prevent them from achieving [16:04] their aspirations. Okay. Their [16:07] aspiration is for Hamas to remain armed [16:09] and they don't even mind if the war [16:10] continues. That is where the Palestinian [16:12] people are. And that is why this whole [16:14] plan is uh it's a very nice PowerPoint [16:18] presentation, Jared Kushner, but it has [16:20] zero chance of success. And I'll say one [16:22] more thing. [16:23] One of the big mistakes and one of the [16:25] big criticisms of the Bush era uh [16:28] foreign policy was that it was this this [16:30] neoconservative exercise in nation [16:33] building and that America shouldn't be [16:34] involved in trying to you know be [16:36] involved in these nation building [16:38] projects where you go into the into the [16:40] Middle East and you try to impose a kind [16:42] of western style view of success and [16:44] prosperity and make it work and [16:46] government. This is exactly what the [16:48] Trump administration is doing. Okay, [16:50] this is a doomed tofail effort in nation [16:54] building where there's a terrorist [16:55] organization that is still in control of [16:58] the majority of the population in the [16:59] Gaza Strip who refuses to disarm. I will [17:03] leave you with a clip from a video from [17:05] Sky News Australia of Kamas senior [17:08] spokesperson Basim Naim speaking right [17:13] after the Trump 20point plan was signed [17:16] and he and u and President Trump claimed [17:20] and President Trump claimed that and [17:23] President Trump claimed then that uh or [17:26] he's been saying ever since that kamas [17:28] agreed to disarm. So take a look at this [17:30] clip. [17:30] >> It has Dr. Bas this is part of the deal [17:35] though this is written very clearly as [17:37] part of Donald [17:38] >> we are not part of the whole deal we are [17:40] we have again we we have accepted the [17:43] first phase [17:45] >> there you have it folks we are not part [17:49] of the deal we have accepted the first [17:52] phase that was what he said and that was [17:54] in the context of being asked about the [17:56] fact that he's refusing to disarm okay [17:59] so there's no there's no disarming of [18:01] kamas it is simply simply not going to [18:03] happen. And that's why Jared Kushner [18:05] very nice press conference uh very nice [18:07] speech at the World Economic Forum and I [18:10] like that you recognize that it is [18:11] impossible. But what is Israel will not [18:15] be withdrawing from anything and none of [18:17] this is going to move forward until [18:18] Hamas is removed and that will only [18:20] happen through military action.
