Why did Donald Trump take over Gaza?


Paul Adams

Foreign traffic correspondent

Watch: Trump says we can take over Gaza and rebuild it

President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the United States could “take over” and “it’s own” Gaza in the process, relocating its population in the process, was shocked and condemned.

Comment is because there is a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and amid doubts about the future after the Gaza conflict.

The United Nations estimates that about two-thirds of buildings have been destroyed or damaged after 15 months of fighting.

Trump’s vague proposal may indicate the biggest shift in U.S. policy toward the Middle East in decades, which is even more exciting, a universal consensus on a Palestinian state composed of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and along with Israel exist.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the idea was “worthy of attention”, but Arab countries and some U.S. allies have completely rejected it.

Why does Donald Trump say this now?

If Donald Trump is right about one thing, it is that decades of U.S. diplomacy on Israel and Palestinians have failed to resolve the conflict.

The peace proposal and the president came and went, but the problem gradually disappeared. Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the war in Gaza it triggered were a terrifying result.

Trump became a million real estate developers and put on that hat, making a completely effective observation: If Gaza was to be rebuilt, in some places, from scratch, for thousands of civilians, It’s pointless to hide in the rubble. .

The mission of rebuilding Gaza will be enormous. Unexploded ammunition and mountains must be removed. Water and power cords must be repaired. Schools, hospitals and shops need to be rebuilt.

Graphics show the amount of rubble in Gaza

Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said it could take years – as this continues, Palestinians will need to go somewhere.

But Trump said that instead of exploring ways to get them close to home, they should be encouraged to leave permanently in camps in the central and southern Gaza Strip.

Trump believes that in the absence, the idyllic American-owned “Middle Eastern Riviera” will rise from the ashes, providing thousands of jobs, investment opportunities, and ultimately a place where “people in the world live.”

Why is Trump’s comment so controversial?

Where does it start?

Even for the President, most of his time has been spent on our Middle East policy, including transferring the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights – a surprising proposal.

In their wildest imagination, no US president believes that a settlement of the Israeli-Palestine conflict would involve taking over most of the Palestinian territory and expelling its population.

It should be clear that doing this by force will be a serious violation of international law.

Some Palestinians may choose to leave Gaza and rebuild their lives elsewhere. Since October 2023, it has reached as many as 150,000.

But others cannot or will not be too strong because of lack of financial means, or because their attachment to Gaza (part of the land they call Palestinian) is too strong.

Reuters Palestinians gather in a destroyed building in GazaReuters

The United Nations estimates that about two-thirds of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged

Many Gaza people were the ancestors of those who fled or were fled from their homes during the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 – Nakba was called Nakba during the Palestinian period, which was a disaster in Arabic.

For many, the idea of ​​another person is too painful and they will firmly stick to the life of the remains of Gaza.

For Palestinians who dream of walking with Israel, losing a portion of them will feel like an amputation.

Gaza has been physically separated from the West Bank since 1948. Previous negotiations and Trump’s 2020 “Peace Vision” include a tunnel or rail program that may link the two.

Now, Trump is basically telling the Palestinians to give up Gaza once and for all.

Although he does not seem to advocate for forced deportation of civilians – a violation of international law, Trump clearly encourages Palestinians to leave.

Palestinian officials have accused Israel of blocking the supply of thousands of caravans, which could help Gazans lose less in the territory when rebuilding elsewhere.

Trump said that Arab countries should accept as many as 1.8 million Gaza refugees, mainly Egypt and Jordan, expressing anger.

Neither has enough problems without adding burden.

What is the current situation in Gaza?

Gaza was occupied by Egypt for 19 years, and then was occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967.

According to the Israeli dispute, it is still occupied by Israel. It said the profession ended in 2005, when it unilaterally demolished Jewish settlements and withdrew its troops.

About three-quarters of UN members believe Gaza is part of the Palestinian sovereign state, although the United States does not.

A map shows Gaza, Israel, the occupied West Bank and other parts of the Middle East

The fence and Israeli maritime lockdown were cut off from the outside world, and it never seemed like a truly independent place.

Without Israel’s permission, no one was in and out, no one was in and out, and the international airport, which opened in 1998, was destroyed by Israel in the second Palestinian uprising in 2001.

Israel and Egypt have blasted rivals from the territory after winning the Palestinian election in 2006 and after a fierce battle the following year, creating a blockade of Gaza for security reasons.

Before the latest war, Palestinians began to view Gaza as an open prison.

Is Trump willing to take over Gaza?

Needless to say, the United States has no legal requirement for the territory and it is not clear at all how Trump intends to impose American rule.

Like his views on U.S. control of Greenland or the Panama Canal, whether Trump really means it, or whether these comments represent an open, eccentric bargaining stance ahead of a series of future bruising negotiations in Gaza.

Various plans for post-war governance in Gaza have been discussed.

Last December, Hamas and Fatah, two major Palestinian factions, agreed to form a joint committee to oversee its government – a deal that has so far had nothing to do with.

At other times, the focus of the discussion was on the creation of an international peacekeeping force, which might be composed of troops from Arab countries.

EPA Donald Trump on the podium of the US and Israel flags at the press conference EPA

Trump commented on Gaza at a press conference in Washington on Tuesday

Last month, Reuters reported that the UAE, the United States and Israel had discussed the establishment of a temporary executive in Gaza until the reforms that have been controlled in parts of the West Bank are ready to take over.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously publicly insisted that PA had no role in post-war Gaza.

In a limited sense, American boots are already on the ground. A U.S. security company has hired about 100 former U.S. special forces to a key checkpoint south of Mangasa City and screened Palestinian vehicles and returned to the north to buy weapons.

Egyptian security personnel can also be seen at the same checkpoint.

These could be the first tentative signs of an expansion of international (probably US-led) status in Gaza.

But it’s hardly a US takeover, which requires massive military intervention in the Middle East – the kind of thing Trump has long told voters he wants to avoid.

Will there be any impact on Israel-Hamas ceasefire?

The second phase of the two-week historical ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has hardly begun, but it is difficult to see how Trump’s bombshell rhetoric will help push them.

If Hamas thinks the final product of the whole process is a heavily populated Gaza – not only without Hamas, but among all Palestinians, it may conclude that there is nothing to talk about and stick to until October 7, 2023 The rest of the hostages occupied by Japan.

Netanyahu critics accused him of finding excuses to blow up negotiations and resume war. They will surely conclude that through these comments, Trump is a willing accomplice.

On the other hand, right-wing supporters of the Israeli Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the U.S. takeover plan, which could reduce the risk of cabinet resignation and make Netanyahu’s direct political future seem more assured.

In this sense, Trump provides Netanyahu with a strong impetus to maintain a ceasefire.

Reuters Israeli military vehicles and construction equipment inside GazaReuters

Battle between Israel and Hamas paused after agreeing to a ceasefire

What does Donald Trump say to the West Bank?

When asked whether he agrees that the United States should recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, Trump said he has not yet taken a stand, but he will make the announcement within four weeks.

The sentence raised an alarm from the Palestinians, and the announcement was inevitably seen as another nail in the coffin to seek a two-state solution.

Recognizing the legitimacy of Israel’s settlement in the West Bank will be a very important move. Despite Israel’s objection to this, most of the rest of the world considers them illegal in international law.

In previous peace talks, negotiators recognized that as part of the final agreement, Israel would hold a large settlement group, possibly in exchange for a small portion of Israel’s territory.

In 2020, Trump led to the Abraham Agreement, which ensured the historical normalization of Israel’s relations with two Arab countries, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.

The UAE has signed an agreement on understanding Israel and will not annex part of the West Bank – an understanding that could be at risk now.



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