David McWilliams: A successful, prosperous Gaza is possible. Here is a model

Damage to critical infrastructure in Gaza is estimated at about $18.5 billion, equivalent to 97 per cent of the combined GDP of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022. Photograph: Ronaldo Schemidt/Getty Images

The Americans, in contrast, stood aloof. They aimed to do something that had never happened in any post-conflict resolution: rather than punish the Germans, they wanted to reward and incentivise them. In what was surely America’s finest diplomatic hour, Washington unveiled the Marshall Plan, which aimed to use American taxpayers’ money to enrich former enemies, the people who had killed more than 180,000 American soldiers.

The Marshall Plan amounted to $13.3 billion . Most of the money was used by Europeans to buy essential goods from the rest of the world. Remember, Europeans were starving and needed first to buy food, later machinery. Roads, power plants, housing projects and airports were built using half local and half US funding, which the Americans simply gave to the Europeans.

. UN officials are quoted as suggesting a financial package in the range of The US would also want to be involved, and would represent the Israelis in negotiation with the world. That $20 billion represents just 0.07 per cent of American GDP, or 0.33 per cent of total federal spending.

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