Conspiracy theorist Yvonne Ridley, who has zero engineering background let alone expertise, is completely out to lunch. The so called canal plans were at best an impractical and overly expensive pipe dream of the previous generation and were not dependent on using any territory from Gaza. The current proposal is a high speed rail and telecommunication link going through Saudi Arabia and Israel to Mediterranean. The Israeli Cabinet in Jerusalem has already approved the Israeli part of the project which is not dependent on completion of the Saudi portion.
en.globes.CO.IL/en/article-cabinet-approves-fast-link-trans-israel-railway-1001453660