On February 4, during a joint press conference with the prime minister of Israel, President Donald Trump unveiled his plan for the “takeover” of Gaza by the U.S. and the reconstruction of its infrastructure. President Trump sat down with Fox News on February 10 and further discussed his plan for the future of Gaza. “We will build beautiful communities for the 1.9 people,” he said. “We will build safe communities a little bit away from where they are,” he added. When Fox News’ Bret Baier asked him if the Palestinians would be able to return to Gaza after the developments, he responded, “No, they wouldn’t because they would have much better housing.”
Trump’s initiative requires all Gazans to be relocated to areas in Egypt and Jordan, a proposal that both countries have rejected. King Abdullah II of Jordan traveled to Washington on February 11 to visit Donald Trump regarding the Gaza situation. Jordan is reliant on U.S. foreign aid, and refusing Trump’s vision might lead to a permanent halt on all aid, including an undisclosed amount that the Jordanian intelligence service operates on. During their meeting, President Trump was asked if Jordan’s refusal of the Gaza plan would lead to a definite halt of all foreign aid. He responded, “I don’t want to say that; we’ve had such a good relationship, and we’re doing so well just in the short time we’ve been talking.” He added, “I don’t think that I have to threaten that; I think we are above that.” Ever since the beginning of Trump’s administration, the U.S. has frozen all aid to Jordan as part of his halt to all foreign assistance. King Abdullah added that Jordan will shelter 2,000 children in an ill state.
During a hostage release on February 15 in Khan Younis, Hamas and Islamic Jihad flatly refused the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. “No migration except to Jerusalem” read a banner on the stage during the hostage release. In recent days, due to Hamas’ withholding support for the ceasefire by refusing to release the remaining hostages, Israel has been threatening to resume the war. The uncooperative attitude of both parties is believed to be breeding more violence.
During the 46th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, the acting leader of Hamas defied the U.S. plan in a speech in Tehran. “We will bring them down as we brought down the projects before them,” Khalil al-Hayya said. Iran, the biggest supporter of Hamas, has been arming the group for decades. al-Hayya expressed his gratitude for the Islamic Republic of Iran and added that he is confident Iran will stand by the Palestinian people.
Since Trump announced that Palestinians will be rehomed in neighboring countries, there has been a tentative unified front among the Arab world. Leaders of the Arab world are set to meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 27. An anonymous source has said that the Arab summit will revolve around the Gaza situation. Another source has reported that the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, will also be present at the summit.
Cairo has proposed an alternative reconstruction plan for Gaza without the displacement of Palestinians. Egypt’s plan also includes forming a governing committee in Gaza without the involvement of Hamas. The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said on February 13, “Right now, the only plan—they don’t like it—but the only plan is Trump’s plan.”
For the Palestinians, Trump’s plan brings back memories of the dark period of Nakba in 1948, which saw the ethnic cleansing of Arabs through forced displacement and dispossession of land.
Written by Mohammad Amin
