When the state of Israel was created in Palestine in 1948, more than 7,00,000 Palestinians, the land’s original inhabitants, were displaced. Palestinians remember this forced mass expulsion as the Nakba (catastrophe). More Palestinians were expelled during the Six-Day War in 1967. Some moved to Gaza, others to the West Bank, while the majority fled to other countries, where they and their descendants are refugees. In successive peace talks, Israel has outrightly rejected their right to return to their homes, a fundamental right. Now, U.S. President Donald Trump wants to forcibly transfer the 2.3 million Palestinians out of Gaza, the Mediterranean enclave that has suffered relentless Israeli bombardment for 15 months. His plan involves relocating Palestinians to neighbouring Arab countries, taking over the 360 sq. km strip which he calls a “hellhole” and redeveloping it into the Riviera of the Middle East. At a press conference in Washington DC, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he also stated sending troops to Gaza “if necessary”. The White House later claimed that he meant a temporary relocation of Palestinians. It also clarified that he had not committed to deploying U.S. troops but reaffirmed that his “out-of-the-box” proposal for Gaza was a serious one. However, Mr. Trump’s plan has at least three fundamental problems.
First, Palestinians are not an imperial possession that Israel and the U.S. can bomb and relocate at will. They are a people with a national identity, whose collective history, present and future, is deeply tied to the Palestinian land. Despite relentless Israeli bombardment, the Palestinians of Gaza have refused to leave. Now, Mr. Trump is advocating what is essentially a call for ethnic cleansing, another Nakba. Second, Arab countries, including many of America’s allies, have unequivocally rejected Mr. Trump’s proposal. They understand that Palestinians who were forcefully removed never managed to return. Even authoritarian Arab rulers, regardless of their dependence on U.S. aid, must pay attention to the sentiments of their people, who overwhelmingly support Palestinian rights. Third, Mr. Trump’s vision of rebuilding Gaza aligns closely with the Israeli far-right’s agenda: resettling the land with Jewish settlers. This will further alienate an already desperate population and plant yet another time bomb in West Asia. Mr. Trump must abandon his calls for the ethnic cleansing and instead use America’s influence to ensure a successful ceasefire in Gaza. The U.S. should be working toward a lasting, just solution — one that acknowledges Palestinian rights and upholds the principles of peace and stability in the region.
Published – February 07, 2025 12:20 am IST
