Gaza’s waterfront restaurant owners hit back at Trump’s plans

STORY: :: Restaurant owners hit back at Trump’s Gaza plans and say they’ll rebuild themselves

:: February 6, 2025

:: Assad Abu Haseira, Restaurant owner

:: “Tourism exists in Gaza and even if Trump came and changed the landmarks in Gaza, restaurants are here and the shops – they can all be repaired. There is nothing that can’t be repaired, we’ll repair them, despite the destruction. We’ll turn them into heritage; we will work while they are destroyed.”

:: Gaza City, Gaza

:: Mohammad Abu Haseira, Restaurant owner

::“We are one of the oldest restaurants on the coast of Gaza, the restaurants were established years ago. Trump has come up with a decision that he wants to establish restaurants, but the restaurants are here and the hotels are here. Why did you destroy it to establish other ones? Despite the destruction, God willing, we will build it, and it will become operational, and much better than before. This is our country, and we will not leave our country.”

Trump’s proposal for the U.S. to take over war-torn Gaza and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere has shattered U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, sparking widespread global condemnation.

Trump, in his first major Middle East policy announcement, said he envisioned building a resort where international communities could live in harmony after over 15 months of Israeli bombardment devastated the tiny coastal enclave and killed more than 47,000 people, by Palestinian tallies.