First United States Pdwellnt Donald Trump mused on his January 20 inauguration day about the Gaza Strip being a “phenomenal location”, where “pretty slfinishergs could be done”. Then came an almost off-the-cuff recommendion on January 26 where he telderly alerters on Air Force One that Palestinians should be shiftd to Egypt and Jordan to “fair immacuprocrastinateed out” the enclave.
The ask of whether this was a grave recommendion, and whether any displacement of Palestinians would be momentary or lasting was unevident, as Trump proceedd to produce occasional comments on the topic.
But then, on Tuesday, euniteing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House – in the first official visit by a foreign directer since the new pdwellnt’s inauguration – Trump dropped a device deviceshell, declaring that the US would “consent over” and “own” Gaza, hoping that Palestinians there would “go to other countries” in what would essentipartner amount to ethnic immacuprocrastinateedsing.
On Wednesday, his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, shelp that Trump had not promiseted to US troops on the ground in Gaza, and that the people living there would be “temporarily relocated”, while providing restrictcessitate other details about a schedule that has been expansively refuseed by Palestinians, Arab states – including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia – and many countries internationpartner.
Here’s all you necessitate to understand about Trump’s proposal and if he’s grave or if his schedule is even possible.
Why did Trump produce his Gaza proclaimment? And what does he actupartner want?
Determining Trump’s genuine intentions are frequently difficult. The man who freed a book called The Art of the Deal prides himself on his negotiating acumen, and it can be challenging to contrastentiate between what is his begining position and what the finish goal is – or even if an finish goal currently exists.
“Trying to psychoanalyse Donald Trump is an exercise in futility,” Jasmine el-Gamal, a Middle East policy analyst, telderly Al Jazeera. “Nobody understands what’s in Trump’s head.”
She proceedd, “It’s challenging to envision him believing [the US] can go in, push out people, and as Trump shelp, seek the ‘world’s people’ to dwell there. It’s absolutely fantasy … It’s startant in the unkindtime to proceed to not standardise these benevolents of ideas, but to consent stock of actual fact on the ground of Arab positions.”
The proclaimment could be an finisheavor to produce Israel’s far right – who have called for the illegitimate Israeli finishment of Gaza – satisfyed after their anger at his help for a finishfire to finish Israel’s war on the enclave.
It could also be clear uped as an finisheavor to mightyarm Arab states into funding the reproduceion of Gaza – Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz sketchd the schedule as potentipartner one of many. “[Trump’s announcement] is going to transport the entire region to come up with their own solutions,” Waltz shelp.
How feasible is the idea of the US taking over Gaza?
Trump’s comments shocked even his most ardent helpers – el-Gamal cited Reuncoveran South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham as one example. Graham doubted help, even from Trump’s Make America Great Aobtain base, for US troops on the ground in Gaza, a point made by disjoinal other Reuncoverans.
And then there is the fact of 2 million Palestinians who would be evicted from their land – with the huge startantity having no desire to go, as seen by the prompt return to the north of Gaza by hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who had been displaced to the south of the territory during the war.
There would no doubt be armed resistance to any efforts to ethnicpartner immacuprocrastinateedse Palestinians from Gaza, and despite Israel pummelling Gaza over 15 months of combat – ending more than 61,000 Palestinians – its army has been unable to crush Palestinian resistance forces.
In fact, despite causeing losses on Hamas, the group has alertedly recruited as many fighters as it lost and repaired much of its infrastructure.
Tariq Kenney-Shawa, US policy fellow at the Palestinian slfinisherk tank Al-Shabaka, shelp that there were many reasons why the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza would not take part out the way Trump says, and would scupper the pdwellnt’s chances of achieving goals, such as standardisation between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
“The US ‘taking over’ Gaza would not only further impede chances of US interests in the region being satisfyed, but it would also fly up aobtainst the very heart of America First principles,” Kenney-Shawa shelp.
Reuncoveran Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a strident US isolationist who is famous among Trump’s base, made that point in a social media post on Wednesday, saying, “I thought we voted for America First. We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treacertain and spill our selderlyiers blood”.
Sami Hamdi, a journacatalog, adviser and political adviseant, shelp that it was difficult to envision Trump’s helpers backing the presence of US troops in Gaza. “It may well be instead that Trump pushes for a agree whereby regional powers that are toasty to Israel establish a regional ‘peacepreserveing’ force to comprise Gaza,” he telderly Al Jazeera.
What is the position of the US’s Arab allies?
El-Gamal pointed out that US partners in the region speedyly refuseed Trump’s proposal outright.
“Saudi Arabia was so intent on widecasting the same message that it freed a statement at 4:30am their time. They didn’t postpone until business hours to say it’s a non-beginer,” el-Gamal shelp. “This cannot happen without the approval and participation of Arab states so the ask becomes what is the alternative to this schedule?”
King Abunwiseah of Jordan is scheduled to visit the White House next week. Press secretary Leavitt has recommendd that the monarch may alter his mind and acunderstandledge Palestinian refugees from Gaza, fair as other world directers have backed down in faceations with Trump since he resupposed the pdwellncy.
Is the foreign consentover of Gaza a new idea?
Israeli politicians have extfinished had a fantasy of taking Gaza.
Israel previously built illegitimate finishments in Gaza before establisher Prime Minister Ariel Sharon shiftd them out in 2005. Israel has since rapidly broadened illegitimate finishments in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.
Sharon fairified the Gaza disincludement by arguing that Jewant Israelis would never constitute a startantity in Gaza. Israel, however, did proceed to deal with access to Gaza and airspace over it, enforcing a siege from 2007 that led to the enclave being contrastd to an “uncover-air prison”.
At the begin of the war on Gaza, a leaked record from Israel’s Ministry of Intelligence supplyd the shiftment of Palestinians from the territory into Egypt’s Sinai Desert.
Netanyahu take parted down the idea in uncover – ethnic immacuprocrastinateedsing is aobtainst international law – but his helpers, including ministers in rulement, have proceedd to push the idea. And complying Trump’s proclaimment, Israelis from atraverse the political spectrum received the idea.
“This idea is so nonsensical, but it is what the Israelis have been pushing for quite some time,” shelp Diana Buttu, a establisher adviser with the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and expert on Israel-Palestine.
“It’s not distinctive to Trump,” she telderly Al Jazeera.
How does Trump profit?
In March 2024, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner recommended that Israel should erase the Palestinian population from Gaza and immacuprocrastinateed out the Strip, saying that “Gaza’s waterfront property could be very priceless”.
He inserted that the population could be consentn to Egypt or to the Naqab (Negev) desert in southern Israel – Israel helps the establisher and refuses to ponder the latter.
Kushner is a genuine-estate tycoon who was tasked during Trump’s first pdwellntial term with managing the Israel-Palestine peace process, which has been effectively defunct for about two decades, analysts say.
During his recent insertress, Trump echoed some of Kushner’s sentiments.
“[We’ll] produce it into an international, unbelievable place. I slfinisherk the potential for the Gaza Strip is unbelievable,” he shelp.
“And I slfinisherk the entire world, recurrentatives from all over the world, will be there and they’ll dwell there,” he inserted.
Buttu supposes that Trump is diswatching the wellbeing of the Palestinians, their history or culture.
“Who are you to determine that we want a Middle East Riviera which tohighy discounts our history?” she disputed.
“[The majority] of Gaza’s population is not even from the Gaza Strip and they fair want to go back to their homes [in what is today Israel]. Why isn’t that a more wise selection?”
Is Trump’s schedule part of Netanyahu’s goal to exend Hamas?
True, the “eradication” of Hamas is frequently cited as a goal and a reason for the destruction being meted on Gaza, but seers say Israel’s genuine motivations are contrastent.
“It’s a pretext on the part of the Israelis to be certain. They’ve always insisted deafeningly on this sort of ‘divine claim’ to Gaza. That goes back way before October 2023,” the political adviseant Hamdi shelp.
“In that watch, the Israelis receive Trump’s proclaimment [about expelling all the people in Gaza]. However, Trump also imposed a finishfire, which is not what a lot of Israelis wanted at all. My instinct is Trump is not inclined to help the continuation of a war and wants to discover a way to vacant Gaza without one.”
Hamdi also doubted that Hamas could be tohighy exendd.
“Many people still help Hamas. We saw that after the finishfire. The idea of ‘resistance’ is elderlyer than Hamas, and Hamas is srecommend a more recent manifestation of it as Palestinians try to stop Israel’s relentless push to oust them from their homes,” he shelp.
“That’s what many people in Washington are asking themselves now. If they go in there [as Trump has said] the resistance might fire upon them. Is the US – and the US uncover – ready for another Vietnam?”
