When US President Donald Trump proposed an American takeover of a depopulated Gaza Strip on Tuesday, some were tempted to dismiss his remarks as an example of Mr Trump’s distinctive, off-the-cuff style. They are wrong to do so, and there are several reasons to take these pronouncements seriously.
Mr Trump’s plan to occupy Gaza – with the aid of US troops, if necessary – was delivered in considered remarks during a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. It is Mr Netanyahu’s military – largely armed and supported by the US – that has left Gaza in ruins and cost the lives of more than 47,500 Palestinians.
The almost immediate reaction from Saudi Arabia also showed that such remarkable proposals cannot be ignored as a flight of fancy. The kingdom stressed its rejection of any attempt to displace Gazans and said it would not move towards establishing ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.
This reaction from Riyadh was in line with Monday’s letter from the foreign ministers of five Arab countries – including the UAE – and a senior Palestinian representative. Addressed to Mr Trump’s Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, the signatories said reconstruction “should be through direct engagement with and participation of the people of Gaza. Palestinians will live in their land and rebuild it”.
Indeed, Egypt and Jordan’s repeated rejection of any plan that involves uprooting and forcibly relocating Palestinians to their territory should also underline how seriously Cairo and Amman are taking some of the ideas emanating from the White House.
Although Mr Netanyahu on Tuesday credited Mr Trump for “thinking outside the box with fresh ideas” in reality there is no need for such radical proposals because the answer to the conflict is already well known – a comprehensive peace process that ends Israel’s occupation and establishes a sovereign Palestine alongside an Israeli state inside its internationally recognised 1967 borders.
There are several possible reasons why Mr Trump may have chosen this moment to make such an intervention. He is still in the honeymoon period of his second term and arguably chalked up an early win as Canada and Mexico manoeuvred to avoid a costly trade war with the US.
However, as political realities set in, many legislators, including from Mr Trump’s Republican Party, will look askance at any suggestion that US troops be sent to another Middle Eastern conflict zone – especially given Mr Trump’s stated position that US soldiers should not be embroiled in other countries’ wars. Some members of Congress from both parties have already articulated their concerns about Mr Trump’s proposal.
There is a chain of logic that explains why grandiose schemes such as turning a Gaza emptied of Palestinians into the “Riviera of the Middle East” are currently being thrown around at the highest level. Successive US administrations have prioritised Israel’s positions while largely ignoring the concerns and ideas of Palestinian representatives. This has led to the present situation where Palestinian aspirations and nationhood simply do not figure in US policymaking.
The dangerous absence of Palestinian voices must end. The two-state solution remains the consensus position of the Arab world and wider international community, as stipulated in a number of UN Security Council resolutions. To put it another way, the vast majority of the world believes Palestine is for the Palestinian people.
For 15 months, the Israeli government has tried to make Gaza unliveable for Palestinians but not only are they still there, despite their suffering, Palestinians have already been marching en masse to go home and rebuild their communities. Such people cannot be sidelined. It is time for political reality to replace threats of displacement.
