The United States of Gaza: One way Trump could increase natural gas production is through ownership of the Gaza Strip. In June 2023, Netanyahu awarded preliminary approval for the development of gas fields in Gaza Marine. It would have been an economic boon for the Palestinians, and it would also have given Netanyahu ammunition to demonstrate that he is working to make better living conditions for Gaza residents. These fields are estimated to contain over 1 trillion cubic feet of gas. That gas could go to Europe and could decimate what’s left of Russia’s gas supply to Europe. What’s left is largely LNG. The Palestinian Authority has wanted to move this project ahead for decades, but Hamas’ control over Gaza has made that nearly impossible. Now, Trump wants to skip ahead and take ownership of Gaza, but the gains would not go to the Palestinians, who would be evicted to Jordan and/or Egypt. That attempt is fodder for a wider regional war.
The Panama Canal remained a key geopolitical focus this week, with Panama President Jose Raul Mulino accusing the State Department of lying when it claimed its vessels would be able to traverse the canal for free. Like Gaza, Panama is up in arms over Trump’s threat to take the canal. The newly inaugurated president, however, has achieved a victory with respect to Panama, which this week officially told Beijing it would pull out of the Best and Road Initiative.
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