Former President Trump devised an audacious strategy intended to revolutionize the conditions in Gaza, which generated enthusiastic support from the Israeli right, whereas Palestinians had significant reservations about it. Some analysts believed the initiative could have been a negotiation stratagem. The scenario saw Palestinians leaving the northern territories of Gaza to an unassigned location.
Trump’s unique vision featured turning Gaza into an American-administered region and initiating a large-scale relocation of its two million inhabitants. This bold proposition was received with excitement by the Israeli right, but it provoked concerns among Palestinians and other Arab partners of the US. On the other hand, regional commentators found it challenging to gauge its feasibility due to its improbable nature.
The potential of deploying American troops into another encounter against Islamic militancy in the Middle East— an aspect of the proposal—caused some analysts to question the reality of the plan. They speculated that Trump’s approach might have been the beginning of fresh bargaining over the destiny of Gaza, given its seemingly unlikely implications.
The innovative proposal by Trump appealed to the Israeli right as it threatened to dismantle longstanding paradigms concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Supporters held that this could enable the interception of the persistent Gaza militant menace without necessitating the formation of a separate Palestinian state. In particular, it opened the possibility for settler group leaders to consider resettling their communities in Gaza—a long-held aspiration.
Palestinians, on the other hand, were naturally apprehensive about the proposed plan which, in their perspective, mirrored an intensified form of displacement, unprecedented since their experiences in 1948. During that period, nearly 800,000 Arabs experienced expulsion or were compelled to escape in the aftermath of hostilities accompanying the declaration of the state of Israel.
Professor Mkhaimar Abusada, a Palestinian expert on political issues based in Gaza who had to relocate from his homestead during the hostilities, termed the proposal as ‘Outrageous’. He was of the opinion that for Palestinians, the prospect of staying in tents next to their ravaged residences was more favorable than relocating to novel locations.
On the contrary, Itamar Ben-Gvir, an Israeli lawmaker representing the far right and a settler group leader, expressed approval of the proposal. Asserting its significance in a social media message, Ben-Gvir strongly backed the encouragement of Gazans’ migration as the ultimate solution to the chronic challenges facing Gaza.