Saudi Arabia, Israel & Palestine

The other day I was watching a report on Syrian refugees and they talked about how Lebanon was prejudiced against refugees after their experience with Palestinian refugees, who came in the hundreds of thousands and put a strain on the country. (I learned last night that they never left and the refugee camps still exist, some forty years later.)

Now, I've realized that maybe this is foolish thinking, in that I think of Saudi Arabia as this country where everyone's a millionaire, rather than it having classes like any country, but I was thinking that if the supporters of Palestine and the Palestinian people wanted to help them - in a real, human way - they could use their wealth to do it.

Here's the first idea: Israel is building settlements in the West Bank, continually encroaching on Palestinian lands (if not already taking them over by fiat). Rich Saudis could start buying properties in Israel proper and renting, leasing or giving them to Palestinians. If regular Palestinians were seeded throughout Israel (or throughout Jerusalem, lets say), there might be more growth as people had them as neighbors instead of some "Other" that lived behind a giant wall where death came from.

So my first idea is this: buy up all kinds of homes and apartments in Jerusalem and start giving them to Palestinians who work in Jerusalem (or outside the wall) and strive to have a better life. If this improves their economic condition, they can then contribute to the economic state of other Palestinians within the Territories and possibly help the state as a whole.

Now, I imagined a roadblock. What if the Israelis don't want Arabs (regardless of nationality) buying up real estate, or would be suspicious of such? Well, here's a lesson from the pros*: form a shell company! Get some lawyer in Panama to set up a company with "Holdings" in the name and buy all the properties from there. The lawyer can cite confidentiality or he can be the chairman of the board or CEO and not need to reveal his investors and/or donors. Simple subterfuge. You might also go through China (because it might be more plausible in this day and age).

Here's another idea - that would be kind of amusing, in a way. What if you bought up the settlement buildings and gave them to Palestinians? I don't know if the settlements are government-owned or privately-owned, but if they can be bought, I think it would be a great move to buy an entire building and then populate it with Palestinians, undercutting the whole purpose of the project. That would be kind of cool and have an edge of satiric wit to it.

To go back to the genesis of the story, I think it also would be a great idea to build permanent housing in Lebanon for the Palestinian refugees who've been living there since the 60s and 70s. I understand from the news that "camps" still exist, but they weren't described or shown, so I don't know if they are still camp-like structures (fabric) or if they have become shantytowns like in urban Africa, or what.

If wealthy donors were to fund the building of apartment buildings in Lebanon, it would serve three purposes: 1) employment and wages for people - hopefully native Lebanese, therefore not causing more conflict with the refugees; 2) possibly reducing rents by expanding the market for living spaces (something that has become an issue with the recent influx of Syrian refugees); and 3) give the Palestinians real housing, giving them a chance to move ahead in the world (and possibly leave Lebanon).

Of course, building a permanent building for a refugee population is fraught with problems, as well; natives probably won't be happy with something so permanent and that it's being built for "outsiders." (I would argue that if they've been there for 30-40 years, they're pretty much locals by now; plus, giving them their own housing takes them out of housing Lebanese people could rent.) Still, I think it would be a worthwhile project.

Then there is the issue of Palestine itself. I get caught up in the conflict that exists there: the people seem under an oppressive hand from the Israelis, but the constant threat of missiles and other terrorism seem to warrant tight control. So how do you address it?

For me, the plan always has to be growth. People who are employed and moving up the economic ladder and see a future are people who are not throwing bombs and rocks and giving away their lives. (On the other hand, the American Somalis who were too comfortable and not spiritually challenged enough, threw it away to have something to fight for - or against.) So how do you create stability and upwardly mobile lifestyles in Palestine?

My first two things would be power (electricity) and food. I would want to install solar panels all around and maybe set up some coastal generators that capture wave energy. Next I would want to expand the farming sector; figure out how to grow in smaller spaces, indoors, on rooftops, all year long. Start growing specialty products and special organic blends.

The biggest hindrance with any kind of commerce is the restriction on travel and goods. How are you going to get things out? How are you going to get things in? There has to be an incredible level of trust, either by letting the Israelis have some measure of control or by finding a neutral party beyond reproach (and I don't know if that's even possible). Still, I think establishing some kind of regular commercial channel - and maybe it should be into/out of Egypt! - is extremely important if Palestine is going to flourish.

The other thing that could be a real boon to Palestine - in terms of its standing in the world and the help that it gets from outside - would be to bring people there. I would like to go to Palestine, to see how it really is and see if my ideas make any sense. I'd like to see how much land there is and what kind of land it is; I'd like to see what the electricity situation is and what can be done to improve it; I'd like to see how the people live and whether there is a large middle class and I'm mistaken in my view of the place.

My thing is growth, always growth. What can be encouraged, rather than discouraged. What can be built instead of destroyed. How can we make people happy instead of making people angry? How can we short-circuit the cycle of revenge and turn it into something else?

*although maybe this is something that only works in spy novels