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Trump’s Gaza Strategy Tied to Global Trade Vision, Says Middle East Expert Dr. Mordechai Kedar
By: Fern Sidman
In a compelling analysis of President Donald Trump’s proposed vision for Gaza and its broader geopolitical implications, Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a renowned Middle East scholar and Vice President of NEWSRAEL, shared exclusive insights with Arutz Sheva – Israel National News (INN), shedding light on how the plan fits into a far-reaching regional and global strategy.
According to a report that appeared on Sunday at INN, Dr. Kedar emphasized that Trump’s plan should not be viewed in isolation as a Gaza-specific initiative, but rather as a key component of an ambitious project dubbed the “Peace Corridor” — a vast infrastructure and trade vision that connects India to Europe via the Middle East, bypassing strategic chokepoints controlled by hostile or unstable entities.
“This plan is not restricted to Gaza,” Dr. Kedar told INN. “It is part of a big plan named the Peace Corridor, which starts in India, runs through the ports of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, crosses Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and eventually reaches the Mediterranean Sea, Europe, and potentially even the United States.”
This corridor, as outlined by Dr. Kedar in his INN interview, is intended to offer an alternative trade route that circumvents some of the world’s most volatile geopolitical flashpoints — notably the Houthi-controlled Red Sea, the Suez Canal, and Iranian-controlled waters in the Gulf.
At the heart of this plan lies the need for a Mediterranean port, one that can accommodate large-scale maritime traffic as the final gateway of this east-to-west corridor. Dr. Kedar explained to INN that Haifa, while well-developed, is “too urban”, and Ashdod is “too small” for the demands of this project. In contrast, Gaza offers a 40-kilometer open coastline, now riddled with post-war rubble, which, according to Kedar, “can be repurposed as a seawall.”
“This is not just about reconstruction,” he noted. “It’s about strategic infrastructure that could redefine trade routes and alliances for decades to come.”
One of the most controversial points raised by Dr. Kedar during the INN interview is the future of Gaza’s population. He expressed confidence that many Palestinians would willingly leave if given the opportunity.
“Bring a ship to the shores of Gaza,” he said, “and two million people will rush to take it to anywhere else.”
This claim reflects a broader assumption underpinning the plan: that a large-scale voluntary resettlement of Gaza’s population is feasible and could facilitate the strategic repurposing of the territory. According to Dr. Kedar, Prime Minister Netanyahu is quietly but firmly in favor of this approach, viewing it as an unprecedented opportunity for Israel to secure both strategic depth and regional integration.
However, as reported by INN, Kedar cautioned that the plan won’t come without costs for Israel. “We will have to fight and pay the price,” he said bluntly. “We will have to bring Gaza to the international community on a silver platter.”
Still, he believes the eventual payoff will outweigh the sacrifices. “Israel will become a crucial link in the global east-west trade corridor, and this will strengthen ties with the Gulf States, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.”
Perhaps the most contentious question, as raised in the INN analysis, is: Where will Gaza’s population go?
Dr. Kedar proposed Qatar as the first and most responsible destination. “Qatar funded Hamas and enabled their atrocities. They must now bear the consequences,” he stated. He even suggested that the international community should apply financial and diplomatic pressure, such as disconnecting Qatar from the SWIFT system, until it agrees to absorb Gaza’s population.
He further elaborated on logistics: Qatar’s airlines could evacuate the population via El-Arish Airport in Egypt in just one week, utilizing dormitories built for the FIFA World Cup to temporarily house refugees. “If that’s not enough,” he said, “Qatar can be forced to find another solution—and quickly.”
As a secondary option, he proposed resettlement in uninhabited islands in the Pacific or Indian Ocean, where infrastructure could be built similarly to other developing regions. “It’s no different than building a new city anywhere else,” he told INN.
Dr. Kedar also turned his attention to Israel’s northern border, where tensions with Hezbollah and Iran remain unresolved. “The Shi’ites can wait years to return to power,” he warned. “Israel must not forget that their strategy is long-term. We must always remember they are waiting for the day to strike back.”
In summation, the insights provided by Dr. Mordechai Kedar to INN reveal a layered and transformative vision for Gaza that extends well beyond the narrow lens of conflict resolution. It is a vision that integrates geopolitics, economic strategy, and demographic engineering — one that, if realized, could significantly reshape both Israel’s role in the region and the global trade architecture of the 21st century.
Whether such a vision is achievable remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is that the stakes are enormous—and that Gaza, once viewed solely as a humanitarian crisis zone, is now being positioned at the epicenter of a geostrategic revolution.
