Some analysts claim Gaza is the crucible for a new order in the Middle East, so let us ask if Gaza's status as a geostrategic lynchpin is a novel phenomenon – or has humanity, as led by de facto transnational elites, been here before? The Global War on Terror echoes the Crusades of medieval times.…
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Some analysts claim Gaza is the crucible for a new order in the Middle East, so let us ask if Gaza's status as a geostrategic lynchpin is a novel phenomenon – or has humanity, as led by de facto transnational elites, been here before?
The Global War on Terror echoes the Crusades of medieval times. Postmodern private mercenary armies (Sandline, Executive Outcomes, Blackwater) harken back to the days of knights aligned with popes and kings. In ancient times, Gaza and Israel were central to the rivalries of various elites. In 2024, new ways of being for mankind are emerging in banking, real estate and medicine.
History may not always repeat itself, but on occasion it does rhyme. The Knights Templar, formally the "Order of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem," was founded in 1119. They were "warrior monks" considered to be excellent soldiers, both brave and loyal. These interlopers of globalization came to the Holy Land armed with swords – and vows of obedience, chastity and poverty. The Templars success at buying real estate made the latter vow almost an impossibility, as the Knights grew to be incredibly wealthy. How did this chance of fate, this wrinkle in history, come to fruition?
One reason is the Templars stumbled across gauze bandages in Gaza – an item modern humans take for granted. Back then, Europeans weren't adverse to wrapping wounds in filthy rags. Gauze was an Islamic medical revolution in and of itself – a significant game-changer during the erstwhile Crusades. Yet gauze wasn't "new" even in the Middle Ages. It had been used in ancient Egypt in the wrapping of the deceased.
The Oxford English Dictionary provides some background on the origin of the word "Gauze."
At St. Mary's Hospital in Jerusalem, gauze bandages were a godsend for wounded Crusaders. And they became a moneymaker for the Knights Templar. In time, the Templars were flush with cash and went on the aforementioned real estate binge. They bought real estate in the British Isles, Cyprus, Bavaria and Syria. We might reflect upon the Knights Templar as the world's first truly transnational corporation.
The British East India Company, French Foreign Legion, Saudi Aramco and Saudi Arabia's Sovereign Wealth Fund all have walked in the footsteps of the Knights Templar.
The Knights revolutionized modern banking. You could make a deposit in England, walk to Jerusalem and make a withdrawal. This helped guard against the bandits one might encounter along the way. (You can read about the Templars in "The Sovereign Individual" by John Dale Davidson and Lord Rees Mogg.)
The Christian Templars were not adverse to religious tolerance. Usama ibn Munqidh, a journalist who hailed from Syria, explained how the Templars allowed him to use their chapel in Jerusalem for prayers as he faced Mecca. These days, journalists continue to write about the Templars. Postmodern author Dan Jones published one such book. Paul Hill published another. Karen Ralls put together her own tome.
The Templars were destroyed by French King Philip IV and Pope Clement V. Soldiers operationally deployed in foreign lands often must face down their critics. The Knights were accused of worshiping false idols, sodomy and blasphemy. And something much worse – perhaps their greatest sin of all – the failure to turn a profit. In 1291, the Crusades ended in failure. In 1314, the Knights' founder, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake in Paris, France. All of their property was taken from them, and all ranks were erased. Members were imprisoned, subjected to torture and made to swear to and sign off on fake confessions of "guilt." Yet since they made an indelible mark on history, the Knights cannot be erased.
Israel and Gaza on the Edge of a New Order
Israel and Gaza remain central to the global dynamic. Israel is well-known in the 21st century as a center of high technology, innovation and science. Noah Harari, the philosopher guiding the World Economic Forum, is a professor in Israel. One might argue Mr. Harari is the oracle of the WEF. As such, he is one of the primary influencers of the future of humanity.
This should come as no surprise. Israel, including Gaza, has captured the interest and imagination of the world since biblical times. Consider the story of Samson, the strongman whose thirst for women and wine stripped him of his power and God's favor. He wound up blinded in Gaza, walking in circles, doing the work of a donkey. Yet he was still able to overcome and destroy the transnational elites of his time.
The fields of nuclear physics, quantum physics, the development of the atomic bomb and the alleged possession of the neutron bomb are not unknown within Judaism and Israel. The Samson Option is an ambiguous term we discount at our own peril. "Jews, God and History" by Max I. Dimont is a must-read primer for those longing for a deeper dive. Max's work has been effusively praised by critics.
As the war in Gaza rages, several troubling revelations have emerged. What we have learned so far is that female Israeli Intelligence officers told their superiors that Hamas was planning an attack. These Israeli Defense Force soldiers of the Combat Intelligence Corps are known in Hebrew as "tatzpitaniyot." They are the "eyes of the IDF" 27/7/365. The AP reported on this here and here. The Times of Israel also chimed in. Yet the warnings of the elite, world-famous Unit 8200 were ignored for at least one year. Why? Read all about it – again courtesy of the Times of Israel, as well as ZeroHedge.
The job of a journalist is to get society to question itself and then offer possible answers. What is the endgame for Gaza? The region is in a state of transition. Did you know a Chinese oil firm is operating in Yemen? And that China set up a military base in Djibouti? What are the plans of the regional and global elites for Gaza? They include offshore gas fields and their linkage to Cyprus and Europe. And a new canal – more on that later.
Gaza is a disaster. It is a failed non-state. For many reasons, Gaza has yet to reach its vast potential. Even during the "good times," greenhouses built by (and left behind by) Israelis were smashed and destroyed. NBC News detailed it back in 2005. You can also Read about the 2023 greenhouse destruction.
Despite foreign aid, gorgeous beaches and some of the oldest Christian churches in the world, Gaza never took off as the next Singapore or a tourist Mecca. With sun and sand (and offshore gas) this simply did not have to be. Pointing fingers at both Palestinians and Israelis has achieved little over the past decades. The reality is the past has failed. The PLO, Hamas, Fatah, the IDF and Israeli government are disunited.
That said, a kaleidoscope of puzzle pieces must be deconstructed to understand Gaza's postmodern future. Robots are being tried out by the IDF in Gaza. Haaretz explains the issue. AI is playing a larger role in the Gaza War. It is a highly-criticized, controversial leap for AI and the IDF.
What do Israeli settlers have in mind for Gaza? The New Republic published a critical article. We have recently been reminded that a railroad might be built between the West Bank and Gaza. (More below.) The UK Independent was writing about this in 2005 if you care to gaze backward.
We know there are massive gas fields off the coast of Gaza. Take a look. And then take another. Gaza Marine has 1 trillion (no, that's not a typo) cubic feet of gas. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development says hundreds of billions of dollars can be generated for Gaza residents by these gas fields.
The Leviathan Gas Field off the coast of Israel is worthy of study. Natural gas secured by Israel and perhaps a Palestinian entity in Gaza can be sent to Cyprus and then Europe. Who will control this gas through the rest of the 21st century? Will this bounty ever be shared? If so, when and by whom?
An artificial island linking Gaza to the Mediterranean might also be in the works. In fact, according to Euronews.com, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, "… showed his European counterparts two videos during at a recent meeting. The first promoted a rail infrastructure project connecting Gaza with the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank. The second showed a proposal to build an artificial island in the Mediterranean Sea off the Gazan coast that would serve as a commercial hub linking the Gaza Strip with the rest of the world."
Whether these ideas were well-received or not can't obscure that the region is in play. Big changes are coming. Note: the U.S. is rushing to build a temporary port in Gaza to distribute aid.
The Ben Gurion Canal
The biggest change of all might be the potential realization of the Ben Gurion Canal. Billion Dollar Builds explains it in grand fashion. What is this canal? To begin, the name comes from the founder of Israel, David Ben Gurion. He was of Polish descent. He was born in 1886 and died in 1973 – the year of the Yum Kippur War. He became the first prime minister of Israel, in 1948. The Times of Israel discusses the Ben Gurion Canal Project. Read more about it. You can investigate these two informative videos as well.
Howard D. MacCabee developed the concept for the Ben Gurion Canal back in 1963. Study his original paper. It remained classified until 1996. To this day, it remains relatively obscure. It appears the United States was ready to assist in the realization of the Ben Gurion Canal by detonating 520 (no, that's not a typo either) nuclear weapons in order to create a path through the Negev Desert.
What's most astounding is that the obstacles to building the Ben Gurion Canal – nuclear weapons aside – cannot begin to rival the story of the building of the Panama Canal. As such, it is not surprising the U.S. was, and may remain, on board.
The U.S. Department of Energy report on the use of nuclear weapons to build the canal may be of interest. And if you think these types of "big ideas" are a one-off, think again. A separate plan was proposed to dam up Gibraltar to drain the Mediterranean. Yes, this was seriously considered. The bigger surprise is it never happened.
The Ben Gurion Canal, in its 1963 incarnation, would have meandered from Eliat on the Red Sea to Ashkelon on the Mediterranean. Note the 1956 Suez Crisis played a large part in MacCabee's vision.
The Israel to Aqaba, Jordan canal would also provide a linkage to Neom, Saudi Arabia's city of the future. Neom is basically a sideways skyscraper in the sand. It is either a great leap forward for engineering – and a maverick experiment for human habitation in the 21st century and beyond – or an expensive boondoggle/fantasy.
The flags of Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco fly side-by-side in Dammam. (Original photograph by Anthony C. LoBaido.)
The canal would increasingly link Israel with the Gulf States and India. The Gulf features financial giants like Dubai. Saudi Arabia, thanks to Saudi Aramco, remains the world's top oil exporter.
The Houthis bottling up shipping off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, the Gaza war, energy security and problems with the Suez Canal are all contributing to a renewed interest in building the Ben Gurion Canal. Securing diverse supply chains and making new transnational allies both enter into the calculus. One can only speculate how the canal would impact China's Belt and Road Initiative within the region.
The relatively recent >Ever Given debacle demonstrated to the world that the Suez Canal needs a backup plan. Imagine an ecological disaster, Black Swan event, nuclear, biological or chemical incident occurring at the Suez. The Suez Canal accounts for 12% of global trade. And the canal realized revenues of $9.4 billion in transit fees in 2023 for the Egyptian government.
Mexico, Nicaragua, Thailand, Panama – Canals Galore
Israel isn't the only nation with ideas about building a new canal of their own. Mexico wants to build a similar canal. And so does China – right through the nation of Nicaragua. Thailand has a similar idea with their proposed Kra Canal.
The Suez was the first canal of the modern era. But it does not inspire the imagination like the Panama Canal. If the Panama Canal could be built, so can the Ben Gurion Canal. The Panama Canal required 200 million cubic meters of Earth to be moved – 80 times the volume of the Great Pyramid of Egypt. It cost billions. Scores perished from heat stroke, malaria, accidents and poisonous snakes. When the French first tried to build the canal, 20,000 workers and support personnel died, and $300 million was lost.
President Theodore Roosevelt stepped up to supply American ingenuity in an effort to complete the Panama Canal. We know that Roosevelt felt the building of the Panama Canal was a strategic imperative.
One could argue the 49er Gold Rush and westward expansion of the United States gave rise to and clamor for the Panama Canal. The U.S. built a railroad across Panama in 1855. Yet Colombia, then still one nation with Panama, awarded the contract to build the Panama Canal to the French in 1861. French construction of a sea-level canal began in 1881. This endeavor failed badly, as noted.
Colombia refused to ratify the treaty with the U.S. Senate to build the Panama Canal. As such, Roosevelt encouraged a secession movement by Panama. Panama declared independence from Colombia on Nov. 3, 1903. The U.S. recognized Panama three days later. This was before Colombia began supplying the world with cocaine. And before Panama began laundering cocaine money.
During the days of Theodore Roosevelt, American greatness was expected. America had never lost a war at that time. Great things were demanded of our leaders. Great feats of engineering were often delivered – such as the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, Empire State Building, Hoover Dam et al.
By Christmas of 1905, Yellow Fever had been mostly eliminated for builders of the Panama Canal. Killing each mosquito cost the U.S. government $10. Around 60 steam shovels were active at all times, and 200 railroad cars were filled with rock, dirt and mud each day. The truth is entire mountains were moved.
This came at a significant cost. Trains ran over workers on-site. Panama Canal diggers were blown up by random explosions of dynamite due to the stifling heat. Fire fighters perished. One can only wonder if President Jimmy Carter was aware of any of this when he signed away the Panama Canal in 1977.
Will the Ben Gurion Canal emerge to separate Gaza and Israel – just as Colombia and Panama were divided? Probably. Will Gaza residents benefit from the offshore gas fields? Perhaps. Will there be peace between Gaza and Israel? Yes! If we can marshal the courage to engineer life-affirming canals flowing from our hearts, minds and souls to those of others, share in the Earth's bounty and realize money is merely pieces of paper. Thus we shall avoid the fate – as noted – of Samson, walking around Gaza in circles, blinded, doing the work of a donkey, unknowing that God's favor had departed from him.
A Bedouin woman journeys through the deserts of Jordan. The Ben Gurion Canal will find its ending/entrance point at Aqaba, Jordan. (Original photograph by Anthony C. LoBaido.)
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