The scripture details that Abraham paid Ephron "four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant" for the field and the cave that was in it, in the presence of all the sons of Heth. This transaction ensured that Abraham legally acquired the land, making it an ancestral burial site for his descendants. For his devotion, the God of Abraham granted stewardship of the lands to Abraham's sons, Ishmael and Isaac -- divided by the Jordan River, those west from Jordan River to Mediterranean Sea to the descendants of Isaac; and those east to the Persian Gulf and south of the Euphrates to Ishmael. When Abraham died, the brothers, Isaac and Ishmael came together in peace to bury their Father Abraham in the Cave of Machpelah near Hebron.

Millennia later, when the God of Abraham embraced Muhammad as the Prophet descendant of Ishmael, the God of Abraham - Allah -  guided Muhammad away from Jerusalem to Mecca and the Kaaba which had been rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael - Muhammad never crossed the Jordan River; and neither Jerusalem nor the Foundation Stone are mentioned in Koran. The subsequent Caliphs of Islam had other ideas, and believed the conquest of Byzantine Christian Jerusalem and beyond were commaneded by Allah. The second Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab, known as the "crazy and cursed one", transgressed Allah and conquered the lands west of the Jordan and north of the Euphrates - Jerusalem and Persia. For his transgressions, Allah choose the hand of Umar's Persian slave - Piruz Nahavendi - to assassinate Umar in his palace. Throughout Iran today there are shrines honoring Nahavendi which the Ayatollahs fear. In the lands of Isaac, the followers of Umar built the the Great Umar Mosque - upon the ruins of a Christian Byzantine Church conquered and destroyed.

FROM MACHPELAH TO GAZA

Despite famines and plagues and tragic conquests befalling the descendants of Abraham, they have always, with the divine hand of their God of Abraham, vanquished their conquerors. Today, the great nations of Israel, of the Hashemites and of the Saudis are testaments to the enduring spirit of the God of Abraham. The Canaanites of Gaza have long vanished, as have successive populations. In 1291, the Egyptian Mamluks defeated the Catholic Crusaders and ruled the Levant until 1517 when they fled from their conquest by the Ottomans. Great Britian, France and the othe Allied Powers of World War I (1918) brought an end to the Ottoman Empire. In 1928, the population of Gaza was 25,000 Muslims of Ottoman descent, and a few thousand Christians and Jews.

Nearly all of today's population of Gaza are descendants of those who arrived under Ottoman or British rule. Most are descendants of refugees from the coastal plain of Israel from the War of 1948. Neither Hashemite nor Egyptian their ancestral homes are in the North - in Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. Their beliefs are Umarian -- committed to the Umarian Jihad to conquer the lands of Isaac from the "River (Jordan) to the Sea (Mediterranean)." For the young population of Gaza steeped in hatred since childhood, this is their destiny as commanded by their "Allah".

The divisions within "Islam" have festered since Mohammad's passing, and the evolution of Umarian beliefs are beyond our ability to transform. Witness, October 7 as a tragic reminder of hatreds unresolved and irreconcilable beliefs. We can however create realistic separations which with innovation may lead to a lasting peace.

TOWARDS A LASTING PEACE

Establishing the refugees of Gaza in safe, dignified, enfranchised and expansive communities would create a foundation for a lasting peace. Safety is nuanced and paramount: nuanced due threat from within - the coercion of Hamas and other radical groups - and paramount due to the rightful response of the Israel to terrorism. Dignity and enfranchisement empower individuals, families and community: having a secure home and neighborhood, schools and universities, clinics and hospital, gainful employment and right to interact globally are fundamental to human dignity. An expansive environment is a key for a lasting peace - enabling the new and exciting prospects for future generations.

None of these essential elements for a lasting peace will exist in a "rebuilt Gaza". With more than half the population committed to Umarian dominance, Hamas is already re-establishing the political network worldwide. No domestic or international force will have the dominance, resources or insight to prevail. Even the billions of dollars proposed will not thwart the demented determination of these Umarian fanatics.

History has documented a realistic solution - the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne between Turkey and Greece - which resettled nearly three million people into natural contiguous regions aligned with the participant countries. This undertaking has withstood the test of time, now nearly one hundred years. The Ephron Project proposes a similar solution for the refugee Islamic population of Gaza. The natural contiguous region for the refugee Islamic population is proximal to their ancestral origins - Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.

husly, as a first step of the project proposes creating and purchasing an international-recognized, demilitarized, autonomous "Principalities" in Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey - all countries with over 50% of the land sparsely inhabities.  The voluntary citizens of these Principalities would have an international support, a international passport, access to sea and land travel, new homes, schools, hospitals and communities built to the highest practical standards, workplaces from major industries worldwide, and free elections. Domestic security would be provided initially by a combined loca and and international force. Most importantly it would enable integration of the refugee Islamic population with the rest of the Islamic world, grounded in their ancestral soil, and enable an unlimited future -- untethered and irrelevant to anti-Israel terrorism,  

Creating the Principalities is an extraordinary challenge and opportunity: architecturally, it would bring the most innovative minds to an most intractable problem; practically the logistics would be a nightmare; and politically it would change the landscape and the course of history. The legacy could well be a wonderful future for an population abandoned by the Ottomans and British and lasting peace in Middle East. It is worth the effort.

The Ephron Project requests your participation. Sign up for our Newsletter and "White Paper". Become a "Ephron Peace activist. Coordinate, inform and educate your friends, schools, communities of worship, governments and the UN, EU, US and Israel. Invite our Speakers. And if you can, your donation will accelerate our efforts and outreach.

For a copy of our White Paper and Details, or  general question, contact peace@ephronproject.org