US President Donald Trump dropped a diplomatic bomb yesterday, demanding that Palestinians be permanently resettled outside of the largely destroyed Gaza Strip, and that the territory come under American control.
At a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump declared, “everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land" and turning it into what he called “the Riviera of the Middle East” for "the world's people."
Under Trump’s plan Palestinians would be forcibly relocated to other countries, and granted a “beautiful piece of land” so “they wouldn’t want to return.”
Netanyahu praised the idea as "something that could change history," but other international reactions have been sharp.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority, the Arab League, Egypt and Jordan have all rejected any proposal to accept Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank.
“They say they’re not going to accept,” Trump said, “I say they will.”
Is he serious? Forced population transfers and ethnic cleansing are illegal under international law. And it’s an open question whether the American public would support a new deployment of US troops to occupy territory in the Middle East.
This may be a true real estate hustler’s bargaining ploy. Trump is looking to broker both a longer term settlement in Gaza, where phase one of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire will soon expire, as well as a long-sought Saudi-Israel normalization deal.
The Saudis insist on a plan for a future Palestinian state as part of that. By suggesting such a radical Gaza plan, he may be creating conditions for a later compromise, or forcing the parties – particularly the Arab powers – to come up with something better or call his bluff. Would they?
Lost in the noise: Trump also said he would decide within four weeks whether to support outright Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
