U.S. President Donald Trump has labeled his plan to take over the Gaza Strip and Palestinian lands in general as “real estate development for the future.” The plan is actually to take over the Gaza Strip. He claimed that he would persuade both Jordanian and Egyptian leaders to accept the relocation of about 2 million Palestinians in their countries.
Last Sunday, Trump told reporters that he is committed to buying and owning Gaza. He also explained that he plans to open the region to people from all over the world and to make it an “attractive” destination. The region will be prohibited only for the Palestinians. Furthermore, he plans to ask some regional states to rebuild the region. In other words, he will force them to undertake the financial responsibilities.
The only state that backed Trump’s plan is Israel. Israeli officials try to direct Trump. Israeli authorities, who welcomed Trump’s plans, advised him to meet with the leaders of the relevant Arab states, namely Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and force them to accept the plan.
Almost all global actors, including the United Nations, the European Union, Western countries and Arab states, have strongly opposed the plan. For instance, the U.N., which still regards Gaza as Israeli-occupied territory, has warned that the forced displacement of the Gazan population from the region is strictly prohibited under international law and “tantamount to ethnic cleansing.” Similarly, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz strongly criticized the plan and called it a “scandal.” He emphasized that the relocation of the Palestinian people is unacceptable and against international law.
Arab states condemned and rejected both Trump’s plan and the statements of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the relocation of the Gazan population in the Arab states. While Jordan stated that Trump’s idea is a flagrant violation of international law, Egypt, trying to be careful, called it “reckless.” Saudi official statements appreciated the condemnation, disapproval and total rejection of both Trump’s and Netanyahu’s statements.
The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have also strongly condemned Trump’s Gaza plan. They have clearly declared that the Palestinian lands are not for sale. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said, “The rights of their people and their land are not for sale, exchange or bargaining.” Similarly, Izzat al-Rishq, a political officer from Hamas, said Trump’s statements about Gaza are “absurd” and reflect “deep ignorance of Palestine and the region.” He underlined that “Gaza is not a property to be sold and bought, but an integral part of the occupied Palestinian land."
Naturally, Palestinians fear a repeat of the Nakba (the catastrophe), when hundreds of thousands were forced to leave their homes following the creation of the Israeli state in 1948. Many of these people ended up in Gaza, and they make up 75% of the Gazan population.
In general, Trump’s latest plan is not different from his previous one, the Deal of the Century, which was also a unilateral plan that denied any rights to the Palestinian people. It will surely fail like the previous one. It is not durable. The plan will escalate tension and violence in the Middle East. On the one hand, it paves the way for unlimited Israeli violence and expansionism in the region. On the other hand, it will create an atmosphere in which the resistance will continue and probably expand to other regional states.
Looking closely, one can see that Trump’s plan includes many legal, political and humanitarian problems. First of all, we have to ask some questions: With what authority and right does the U.S. want to intervene? With what authority and right does he send Palestinians to another country? Who would he buy the territory from? How will the United States own the Gaza Strip? Who turned the Gaza Strip into hell? Who destroyed more than 80% of the buildings in Gaza? Who caused the collapse of the health care, water and sanitation systems? Who caused the shortages of food, fuel, shelter and medicine?
All in all, Trump’s project is illegal and unilateral. It violates not only the basic rights of the Palestinians but also the political sovereignty of the regional countries. It is a direct intervention to cover the Israeli genocide. It is developed to serve Israeli interests by "cleaning up the mess," including the unexploded weapons. The region will be prepared for the occupation of the Jews from all parts of the world. Also, it will not only disrupt the balance in Palestine but also in the whole region.
Trump, together with his strong men, will continue to fight against the so-called world system and the global establishment. He is determined to destroy the global political and economic status quo. His perspective is largely irrational, ideologically driven and thus illegitimate.
Therefore, there must be a unified reaction to Trump’s grand project. International actors must employ different mechanisms such as reducing their support for Israel. Considering the strong support of Western countries such as the U.K., Germany and France to Israel, it seems that diplomatic efforts will not deter him.
The Western countries have to cooperate with the non-Western powers, including the Arab and Muslim countries, to deter Trump’s overall unilateral and interventionist policies, including his Gaza plan. They have to take concrete measures against his administration. Otherwise, they will all suffer from Trump’s pressure and his threat of the use of power.
