Israeli newspapers are frowning on statements made by US President Donald Trump about displacing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to neighboring countries such as Egypt and Jordan. Articles are appearing criticizing the plan as unrealistic, stating the Palestinians will not leave their land, and the Trump statements are mere “political tricks” without any real plan of action.
Not Realistic
Political analyst Avi Issacharoff confirmed the Palestinians wholehearted rejection of the plan and the continued control of Hamas over Gaza make Trump’s statements inapplicable on the ground.
The writer in Yedioth Ahronoth wrote: “Trump’s statements about displacing Palestinians sparked the imagination of a large number of Israelis. After 7 October, many wanted to see Gaza disappear and its residents leave for it to turn into a prosperous American Riviera. But the only problem is that this is not realistic.”
He believed the ideas made by Trump may merely be a political maneuver or a negotiating step with Hamas, but he stressed it “is not a real plan of action, because there is no Arab entity willing to cooperate with it, including the moderate Arab countries that strongly oppose it.”
He explained Arab countries such as Egypt and Jordan, while receiving American aid, are more concerned about the influx of Palestinian refugees into their territories whilst Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also expressed their opposition to the idea.
Historical Wound
As for the Palestinian side, Issacharoff stressed no Palestinian party could agree to a displacement plan, noting the idea of mass departure is linked in Palestinian memory to the 1948 Nakba, which remains a historical wound.
The political analyst also warned of the repercussions of the displacement plan, as it could strengthen extremism within Israel and hinder ongoing efforts to complete any deal. He said, “There is doubt Trump’s statements will lead to the release of prisoners, but…hasten the resumption of fighting, which will condemn Israel to more months of war in Gaza.”
He added: “As long as there is no alternative to Hamas, any military operations will only lead to more destruction and killing, without achieving the desired goal of its collapse Hamas. The result will be more Israeli casualties and the continuation of the war without a clear political horizon.”
No Deportation From Gaza
He concluded by stressing “flattening Gaza and deporting its residents is an unfeasible dream, and is merely a gimmick by an American president seeking to prove his superiority over others.” He added Hamas still controls the Gaza Strip, and no one threatens its existence.
For his part, Israeli analyst Uri Misgav told Haaretz: There will be no “deportation” from Gaza, and the Americans will not build a “Riviera” there. There is no plan, no preparatory work, no point, and no one will receive two million Palestinians on their land. We are not in the days of World War II. Trump is babbling meaninglessly, this is his style. He has suggested in the past building hotels in North Korea instead of nuclear missiles. Since his election, he has talked about invading Panama, seizing Greenland, and annexing Canada. We are old enough to remember how he once said during a meeting with Netanyahu about annexing the West Bank to Israel.
Experts Continuous Media Bombardment with Empty Speech
“It is insulting to intelligence to take Trump’s random statements seriously,” Misgav told Haaretz. “He is completely mentally unstable, and we live in an era of accelerating decline. It is true that Netanyahu is also a psychopath with no conscience, but he is not stupid. Even he froze in discomfort when Trump began raving about evacuating Gaza, while Netanyahu lavished embarrassing praise on him.”
“It is sad to see large parts of the Israeli media cooperating with this farce, and engaging in discussions at the level of a seventh-grade social studies lesson, about deportation – for or against. Even before the moral dimension, this basically reflects superficiality and intellectual laziness. They are very easy to manipulate. And here Trump and Netanyahu are already experts in “continuous media bombardment with empty talk about things that will never happen – tomorrow, Trump will not even remember what he was talking about.”
On the other hand, the Times of Israel newspaper ruled out the possibility of Trump’s plan being implemented in the near future, as the residents of Gaza, who survived 15 months of violent Israeli attacks, do not want to live in exile, and Trump will not send American forces to force some two million Palestinians to leave the Strip.
Egypt and Jordan will also not agree to the plan, despite Trump’s confidence that their dependence on American aid and military support gives him enough leverage to pressure them to accept large numbers of Gazan refugees. But this plan crosses the red lines of both countries.
Great Concern in Jordan
The newspaper indicated that Trump’s plan could raise great concerns in Jordan, as it already has a majority population of Palestinian origin, so the influx of hundreds of thousands of Gazan refugees could destabilize the country, which is already facing internal political challenges.
On the other hand, Egypt sees the influx of large numbers of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip as an existential threat to its own national security.
The newspaper reported that there are many issues on which Trump and Netanyahu can cooperate, such as ending the Iranian nuclear program, strengthening Israel’s regional position, and confronting international institutions such as the International Court of Justice and some UN agencies. Therefore, wasting political efforts on Trump’s plan for Gaza may not be the best option.
In the same context, a report broadcast by Israel’s Channel 12 stated that Trump’s plan to evacuate the residents of Gaza and place it under American control faces legal, security, and economic obstacles, and could lead to a long-term war in the Middle East.
War Crime
The report quoted international law experts warning that the mass displacement of Palestinians could constitute a “war crime” under the Geneva Conventions, sparking widespread international criticism.
The channel indicated that the cost of implementing the plan could reach tens of billions of dollars, which sparked objections even within the Republican Party, as some refuse to fund a project of this size. The plan also met with widespread opposition within the United States, as Democrats considered it a violation of international law.
As for the American Wall Street Journal, it said that Trump’s proposal regarding control of Gaza “stunned his allies and Middle East experts, and left many questions unanswered.”
The newspaper added that “any American military deployment of this kind would be long-term, something Trump has repeatedly condemned,” expressing its belief that the proposal “would be met with rejection in the Arab world.”
For its part, the American Time magazine said that Trump’s proposal “was met with sharp criticism,” noting that “some Democrats described the proposal as crazy and morally inappropriate.”
The magazine indicated that Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib condemned the plan and considered it a purge Ethnically, “while Netanyahu expressed interest in the idea and saw that it was worth studying.”
Finally, the American Foreign Policy said that what President Trump is planning for Gaza “will be a disaster for everyone, especially Jordan, which takes the president’s talk about the forced displacement of Gaza residents very seriously.”
The magazine concluded by saying that what Trump does not know “is the extent of the damage that will be inflicted on American interests if Jordan is exposed to any disturbances as a result of his plans,” as reported by the Shihab news agency.
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