Trump’s Gaza War vs. Netanyahu’s Dream: Why Do U.S. Soldiers Need Us? Israeli-Palestinian Relations in the Post-Trump Era
A similar scenario played out in Trump’s first term: Netanyahu declared Israel would annex parts of the West Bank under Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, then tabled annexation in exchange for a Trump-brokered deal for diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
It is hard to exaggerate the traumatic resonance of displacement and population transfer in collective Palestinian memory. This history helps explain the Palestinian determination to remain in the newly devastated territory and the widespread outcry to this relocation proposal and its long-term radicalizing potential.
Both Trump and Netanyahu were noncommittal Tuesday about extending the ceasefire deal under negotiation with Hamas. Israeli observers say the attention-grabbing headlines of Trump’s plans for Gaza distract from what Netanyahu and Trump may have agreed to behind closed doors — potentially a commitment not to resume the Gaza war.
“We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,” Trump said as Netanyahu looked on. “Level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings. Level it out, create an economic development.”
Asked who he envisions living in a U.S.-remade Gaza, Trump said, “I envision the world people living there. The world is made of people. I think you’ll make that into an international, unbelievable place.”
Trump did not share details how he anticipated the U.S. would take control of the strip, but during the press conference, also didn’t rule out sending U.S. troops to support the reconstruction.
When Netanyahu spoke, he smiled and praised Trump for what he had done for Israel. And, regarding Gaza, Netanyahu said Trump has an idea that is worth paying attention to.
The visit comes amid talks about Phase 2 of the truce with Hamas. Phase 1 of the deal focused on the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
Trump officials say the administration is focused on making sure that Phase 1 is completed and that all of the hostages are returned home, including the deceased. They say Phase 2 would end the war with Hamas and return all remaining Israeli hostages from captivity in Gaza.
But Trump’s envoy said Phase 3 of the ceasefire deal — reconstruction of Gaza — would get complicated because it’s “physically impossible” to rebuild the area in five years. A 10- to 15-year timeline would be more likely, he said, because of the damage to Gaza during the war.
“You have to learn from history. History is – you just can’t let it keep repeating itself. “We have an opportunity to do something that could be amazing,” Trump said.
On Tuesday, Trump signed two executive orders related to the Middle East. One person putsmaximum pressure on Iran. Trump was torn about signing it.
I’m signing this and not happy about it. but I have not so much choice because we have to be strong and firm,” Trump said, and added that he hopes he doesn’t have to use it.
It’s very easy to understand for me. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. He said the U.S. has the right to block the sale of Iranian oil to other countries.
Trump says the United States will ‘take over’ Gaza and relocate its people. What does it mean? Comment on “Trump’s talk at the Tel Aviv Peace Center”
The other order pulled the U.S. out of the United Nations Human Rights Council and cut off aid to the United Nations Relief Works Agency, which is the main group providing aid to Palestinians.
Palestinians, Israelis, and the entire Middle East are scrambling after President Trump floated two bombshell ideas about Gaza.
Gaza’s population would be relocated to other countries. “ We should go to other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts, and there are many of them that want to do this, and build various domains that will ultimately be occupied by the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza, ending the death and destruction and, frankly, bad luck,” he said.
Olmert said he would make a decision on how serious the situation was on the day that he saw American soldiers in Gaza. “Every party involved except for Israel is completely against it.”
“It is utterly unrealistic, and it reflects a total lack of understanding of the historical process of where these Palestinians come from, what is their collective identity,” former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami told NPR. “ It’s somebody that came from the outer space and tries to impose a solution which is, you know, detached from a context.”
Israeli observers have suggested Trump could be using a negotiating tactic known in Israel as “putting in a goat” — laying down a demand for the purpose of removing it later and appearing to have granted a concession.
The man is an actor in a global theater and has been playing big, drawing the world’s attention to what he says, and eventually something will happen that goes his way, said Ben-Ami. “Maybe this is a tactical sort of move that tries to say a big thing in order to eventually get a more modest solution.”
Source: Trump says the U.S. will ‘take over’ Gaza and relocate its people. What does it mean?
Israel’s “Transfer” Against Trump’s Proposal for Relocating to the Frontline of the Palestinians in the Postwar Gaza
The “transfer” idea, which encourages the emigration of Palestinians to other countries in order to allow Israel to take over their land, has quickly moved into the Israeli mainstream with Donald Trump’s recent comments about relocating Gaza.
In a poll published Monday, about seven out of ten Israelis supported the idea, with most Jewish Israelis polled calling it a “practical plan that should be pursued.” Most Arab citizens of Israel polled opposed the idea in the survey, conducted by the Jewish People Policy Institute think tank in Jerusalem.
In a statement released by the militant group early Wednesday, Hamas called on Trump to retract his “irresponsible statements,” saying that they would “pour oil on the fire.”
The proposal was rejected by the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, which wants to take part in ruling postwar Gaza. President Abbas said they would not allow the rights of their people for which they have struggled for decades.
The Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia issued a statement after the press conference, saying that it was against attempts to relocate the Palestinians from their land.
The south of the Gaza is where humanitarian aid and services are more plentiful. But many are remaining amongst the debris in tents or in what’s left of homes.
Even if there was a better place to live, I would still be willing to live in the rubble and in tents here. I will never leave the army, with military force.
During Israel’s bombardment of the enclave, a surgeon at the hospital refused to leave the north and said he wouldn’t approve of Trump’s proposal.
“This is my homeland and I have no intention to leave even if Trump provides me with the best of everything somewhere else,” Ghonaim says, noting that he would not abandon the graves of his family killed during the war. He said his children were also killed and remain buried under rubble.
Anas Baba in Gaza City, Gaza, Nuha Musleh in Ramallah, West Bank, Itay Stern in Tel Aviv, Israel, Yanal Jabarin in Jerusalem, Abu Bakr Bashir in London and Ahmed Abuhamda in Cairo contributed to this report.
For decades, the question of whether and how Palestinians might build a state in their homeland has been the focus of Middle East politics, not just for the Palestinians but also for Arabs around the region.
The refusal has been backed up by both political independents and opposition figures in Egypt, which shows how unified the Palestinians can be.
Khaled el-Balshy, the editor of one of the few remaining Egyptian media outlets that are not pro-government and the head of the national journalists’ union, issued a statement on Wednesday calling Mr. Trump’s proposal “a clear violation of human rights and international laws.”
The government member of Parliament suggested that Egypt might be able to repel the displacement with force. The Egyptian military can never allow this, soEgypt can move forward with other measures.
If he presses ahead with his proposal, the president may have ways of bending them to his will. Egypt and Jordan are among the top recipients of American military aid; Mr. Trump has mentioned the funding in recent weeks, without publicly threatening to pull it over the Gaza issue. The International Monetary Fund is the largest shareholder in Egypt, which is in the midst of a crisis.
The United States has given Egypt and Jordan billions of dollars in the past due to the fact that they are the first countries in the Arab world to sign peace treaties with Israel. The United States saw the agreements as key to the security of Israel. The arrangements have long been viewed as foundational to Middle East stability.
Egypt is concerned that Hamas could spread its influence in Egypt and stoke militancy. Cairo has spent a lot of time trying to squash the political Islamism at home.
While the incentives for keeping US aid are small, analysts feel that their fears of alienating their populations by seeming to approve of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is more significant. The rulers of both countries rarely dissent and often use suppression to silence internal criticism, but analysts say they can’t ignore public opinion.
“It’s no joke going up against Trump, particularly for Egypt and Jordan,” said Paul Salem, the vice president for international engagement at the Middle East Institute in Washington. But since “this would really be a bridge way too far for much of public opinion,” he added, “there is no other option for an Arab leader. I don’t see what else they could do.
The issue is especially sensitive to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi because of his attempt to paint himself as a champion of the Palestinians. Popular discontent over rampant inflation and government mismanagement had been growing before the war in Gaza began in October 2023, which allowed Mr. el-Sisi to regain some popularity with strong denunciations of Israel and promises to stand by the Palestinians.
But the shine wore off as the war went on and Egyptian social media swirled with reports of signs that Egypt’s leaders was cooperating with Israel. The government has arrested dozens of Egyptians who were protesting Israeli actions.
Mr. el-Sisi and his allies have tried to counteract the discontent, with Egyptian pro-government media frequently trumpeting Egypt’s role in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza and pro-government politicians congratulating Mr. el-Sisi on personally brokering the recent cease-fire agreement. Along with the United States, Egypt was one of the mediators on the deal.
Allowing Palestinian displacement into Egypt would “wreck the narrative of ‘I’m defending the country,’” said Maged Mandour, an Egyptian political analyst.
Government officials, diplomats and analysts say Egypt sees the idea of Palestinians in mass in Egypt as a serious security threat. Officials worry that members of militant groups among the forcibly displaced Palestinians could launch attacks at Israel from Egyptian soil, inviting Israeli military retaliation.
Jordan, with its smaller population, is even more at risk. Jordan’s monarchy has also had a tense history with militant Palestinian factions.
Yet analysts said Israel’s hard-line government appeared so confident of U.S. support for its actions that it may be willing to destabilize relations with its neighbors.
H.A. Hellyer, senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London and the Centre for American Progress in Washington, said that relying on U.S. backing to push through its ambitions over strenuous objections will not be sustainable in the long run. He argued that “the only way for the Israelis to have long-term, sustainable security in the region is they have to actually integrate into the region.”
Some experts, including ones close to the Egyptian government, held out hope that Mr. Trump was merely taking an extreme starting position that would soften over negotiations.
As a businessman, “he will withdraw when it does not work out,” predicted Samir Farag, a former Egyptian military officer who often comments on Egyptian security affairs in pro-government outlets, in an interview on Wednesday.
Comment on President Trump’s plan to take Palestinian land” [J. Ad.S. Hellyer, Phys. Lett. B39, 513-59 (2008)]
Mr. Hellyer said that some people in Mr. Trump’s inner circle would make Arabs very suspicious of him if he ever came up with a plan to take Palestinian land.
A much more limited version of the plan might be “theoretically acceptable” to Egypt and Jordan, he said, “but they’re ruining any possibility of that, because the framing of the whole thing now is, ‘We want to clear it out.’”