Gaza 2027

The Signing of the Ishmael Accords

Weeks early, an agreement being called the "Ishmael Accords" was signed between Israel and clan leaders throughout Gaza. Symbolically, this took place on May 15, the anniversary of the day in 1948 when Israel achieved independence, and the Arab world went to war against the infant Jewish state. It's the day that, for as many years, Arabs branded "Nakba Day," the day of the catastrophe of Israel's very existence. Now, they are realizing that their actual catastrophe is not living in peace with Israel for the past eight decades. 

Gazans now realize that their Nakba all along has been within, starting with Egypt, which controlled the territory and kept them subservient, followed by Arafat and the Palestinian Authority. Haniyah, Yassin, Sinwar, and Deif, once their leaders and heroes, only sought war and terror. They rejected Israel's legitimacy and existed solely to destroy Israel, not to live alongside it in peace. 

These are names that will no longer appear on street signs, schools, playgrounds, and public buildings as they and their legacy are purged, in favor of building a future together. 

They know of Joseph, who passed through Gaza when he was sold off as a slave, rising from a barren pit and Egyptian prison to become the COO of a prosperous Egypt. They aspire to that Biblical model now, and to others where Jews and gentiles live prosperously together, derived from the blessing of the Jewish people thriving in the Land of Israel. 

A Shift in Strategy

But this purge of their terrorist history, the shaking off of the past in favor of a prosperous future, is based on self-interest. It's an internal intifada. Like Joseph, things in Gaza have gotten so low that there was no further down to look. They needed something to raise themselves up. Yet deep down, not far below the surface, a threat to this vision remains. This exists among decades of children who have been indoctrinated that Israel is an illegitimate foreign occupier. That Jews have no past, and surely no future, in the Land of Israel. 

Confronting False Narratives

They entertain fantasies of "returning" to places that few alive have ever seen. Most displaced from 1947-49 are long gone. Many of them, their parents, and grandparents only arrived in the land as early as a generation before that, benefiting from the prosperity because of the return of the Jews. The migration of hundreds of thousands of Arabs to the Land of Israel is well documented. They know that even though they call themselves "Palestinians" today, their grandparents came from Egypt, Arabia, and Syria. 

Whether they realize it or not that indeed the Jews are the indigenous people of the land, the land's prosperity as a result of the Jews' return, then and today, cannot be disputed. This cannot be seen as anything other than miraculous, God's bounty. They understand now, that like their forebears, prosperity will come from living side by side with the Jews, gleaning from and being part of their success. They want that. 

Rebuilding Gaza, Rebuilding Hope

Quietly, Gazans speak of past mistakes, leading them down the road of jihad and self-destruction. Now, there is a change of strategy, which is hopeful. But what's really needed is a change of heart.

In just months, unheard of quantities of demolition and construction equipment will begin arriving via Israel's Port of Ashdod, along with temporary housing, to be used for a few years while Gaza is rebuilt, and then repurposed as student housing on the campus of "Shalom-Salaam University," in partnership with Israel's Open University. 

The demolition alone will take months. The rebuilding of Gaza will take years. It will generate jobs where, for the first time, Gazans build for their own future rather than a terrorist infrastructure to destroy someone else's. They will be invested in their destiny, not controlled by others hijacking of it. 

A Symbolic Summit

President Trump will convene a summit, symbolically on November 29, the day of the 1957 anniversary of UN resolution 181 to create a Jewish state, resulting in the Arab and Islamic world responding with war. Trump, the peacemaker, will push these countries to step up. 

A New Global Investment

The Arab League and European Union will be expected for the first time to invest in Gaza's long-term, rather than perpetuating its suffering.  UNRWA, the UN agency whose billions of dollars in funding perpetuated its subservience and false fantasies, has been disbanded. A majority of nations of the world are no longer afraid to seek an actual solution, voting to pass UNRWA's budget along to Gazan reconstruction. 

Millions, if not billions, of tons of rubble will be trucked and then floated two kilometers out into the Mediterranean to create new islands, expanding residential areas, ports, and commercial and tourist areas for the ultimate Gazan revival. Never a destination, but only a utilitarian point to traverse via land or sea, Gazans have a vision of becoming a place that people will travel to, not pass through. They will sell hats and other swag-branded MGGA, and make Gaza great again.

The Role of Christian Volunteers

Excitement is palpable, but the resources needed will be herculean. Gaza will be transformed. So will the Middle East. 

Privately, the US, EU, and Arab and Islamic states that have propped up decades of Gazan failure express a huge concern, causing many to be gun-shy. This time, they want to be sure that the money that will be poured in will build lasting peace, not terrorist infrastructure and kleptocracy under Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, or any other entity that may aspire to take advantage of the situation with the same ill intent as past hijackers. Only to be destroyed again in the next war. 

For that reason, and the need to bring in tens of thousands (or more) of professionals to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, just as Joseph managed Egypt Inc., good Christians from all over the world are filling out paperwork and lining up under the banner of Solution for Peace in Gaza to be first on the ground to be part of the rebuild. 

The infrastructure of temporary housing for them has been placed in Israeli cities along what's called the "Gaza Envelope," allowing immediate housing in existing places with municipal services and infrastructure, a close commute to Gaza. These will eventually become new neighborhoods of thriving southern Israeli communities, where real estate values have already spiked due to the long hoped for peace dividend. 

Trust Built on the Ground

Gazan clan leaders have grown to trust the IDF to guarantee and coordinate security now that Hamas is not embedded among them, threatening their own people. Quietly, months ago, Israeli leaders and a delegation of Christian leaders from around the world met with many of the clan leaders, offering their assistance for the long term. It will take a generation, maybe two. Each clan leader wants what's good for his people, even in a competitive way, for one to be more prosperous than the next. To be the best. Each had a specific territory for which they were responsible, creating a confederation of emirates that had independence but were interdependent. 

The Israelis derived hope from these sentiments, wishing that if only Gazans or any Palestinian Arabs had expressed this in the past century, all the war and death could have been avoided. No use crying over spilled blood, they rationalized. Now it's time to build for the future. 

The True Peacebuilders

Yes, anyone can drive a bulldozer, pour concrete, and pave new roads. But it's become clear that these multi-national Christian volunteers are the only ones who can truly turn things around in Gaza. Gazans themselves recognize that Arab and Islamic states entertain visions of becoming their next conqueror. They admit the proclivity for Gazans still aspiring to eliminate Israel to be able to bribe other Arab compatriots to look the other way as they might try to rebuild a terrorist infrastructure, something none of the clan leaders want. 

They acknowledge that for decades, the EU and UN have been duped into dumping billions of dollars into projects that, on the surface, met supposed humanitarian needs. But not far below was corruption at its "best," even evil, in funding the terrorists. Anywhere there was a reflexive anti-Israel agenda, they turned a blind eye. 

Christian volunteers are being welcomed with open arms because Gazans know that their love for Israel is not mutually exclusive to loving and supporting their well-being. They heard from the very mouths of the Christian delegation that this support is not one-sided, and that to achieve true peace, there needs to be a change of heart. They heard from the hearts of the Christians that peace between Israel and Gazans will bring biblical-level prosperity, good for Israel and Gaza. Rather than the win-lose scenario in which they were brainwashed, this can be a genuine win-win. 

The Christian volunteers will show Gazans a future of hope, not perpetual suffering. They will show the love of the God of Israel to Israel's neighbors and help them understand that Israel is not the root of their problems but the foundation of their future. They will represent a vision of a covenant-keeping God of grace, not one of hate and punishment. 

Toward a New Middle East

Following the Trump Summit in November '26, in early 2027, the major equipment and construction materials, along with tens of thousands of Christian volunteers, will begin flooding Gaza, bringing a visual transformation never seen before. In addition to Gaza, the peace dividend will extend to the Arab and Islamic world, where the aspiration to jump on the prosperity wagon will become infectious. Part and parcel of this will be a proactive measure to undo decades of indoctrination in their own countries, some of which once had thriving Jewish populations, and to actively project that Israel is a peaceful, legitimate ally. Even Egypt and Jordan, which have maintained a cold functional peace but allowed and even fomented anti-Israel sentiments among the public, are changing their tune to derive benefits that are as deep as they are wide. 

In Israel, an era of peace only prayed about and prophesied but never truly realized has begun to create even newer investments in tech, agriculture, medicine, and so many other ways that Israel has been a light unto the nations. This is even despite the disproportionate defense spending that they have had to endure all these decades. All this as real estate prices spike along the Gaza border and in Jerusalem, where Arab and Islamic states look to open their embassies closest to the source. 

Then I woke up. 

The future of Gaza in 2047, 100 years since the UN voted to establish a Jewish state, will be written now. What happens in 2026 and 2027 will pave the way for potential peace and prosperity or generations more of terror, war, and suffering. 

*The opinions in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Crosswalk Headlines.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/pawel.gaul
Published Date: July 8, 2025

Jonathan Feldstein was born and educated in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six. Throughout his life and career, he has been blessed by the calling to fellowship with Christian supporters of Israel and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel. He writes regularly for a variety of prominent Christian and conservative websites and is the host of Inspiration from Zion, a popular webinar series and podcast. He can be reached at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com.