PNN – During his election campaign, the US President repeatedly claimed that if he won again, he would quickly end the war in Gaza; a claim that quickly lost steam with his impractical and illogical proposals, worrying the world.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, Donald Trump discussed the issue with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, in a phone call, especially after the brutal Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip on March 18, 2024, which killed 700 Palestinians, including many women and children, and emphasized efforts to end the conflict.
But only shortly after coming to power, on February 4, 2025, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), stood next to him in the White House, did he unveil his controversial plan: a proposal according to which nearly 2 million Gaza residents would have to leave their mainland for neighboring countries, including Egypt and Jordan.
In other words, while the US President had promised to end the Gaza war before his victory, he claimed to be trying to end the conflict in the strip by proposing to expel the Palestinians.
This is not the first time that Trump has presented a controversial plan to end the conflict in Gaza. In his first administration, he also sparked much debate with his “Deal of the Century” (Peace to Prosperity) plan, which included some proposals to resolve the political, security, and economic issues of the region, but was promptly rejected by the Palestinians and many countries and international organizations.
Details of Trump’s new plan to expel Gaza residents
According to Trump’s proposed plan, due to the amount of destruction left behind by the Israeli regime’s attacks, the Gaza Strip is no longer a safe place to live, and its reconstruction could take 10 to 15 years.
Accordingly, he claims that relocating Palestinians and settling them in countries such as Jordan and Egypt could help improve the situation.
Many analysts believe and emphasize that these statements are mostly propaganda and that their implementation is unlikely given the complexities in the region.
Nathan Sachs, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, an American think tank, argued after the plan was announced that expelling the residents of the strip and taking it over by the United States was not feasible. He also called such an action immoral and illegal.
Reuters reported after the White House announced the plan: The US president says that expelling Gaza residents will pave the way for the development of the coastal strip without a US military presence. Trump also noted in his controversial plan that developing the coastal strip could turn it into a modern and attractive tourist destination.
A few weeks after Trump’s proposed plan was presented, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Washington’s efforts to resettle Gaza residents in countries beyond the borders of the Arab League, writing: The Trump administration is seeking to convince some African countries, including Sudan, Somalia, and Somaliland, to accept Palestinians.
The British newspaper also noted that Sudanese officials have completely rejected the plan, and that the leaders of Somalia and Somaliland are also unaware of any contact from the Trump administration.
Global reactions to Trump’s plan
Shortly after Trump announced his proposed plan to relocate Gaza residents to other countries, Arab countries in the region and European governments condemned or rejected it, and officials from Egypt and Jordan, which were mentioned in Trump’s plan as hosts for Gazans, called for the reconstruction of the area without relocating Palestinians.
Many international organizations also condemned Trump’s proposal to forcibly relocate Palestinians as a racist act and a plan for ethnic cleansing.
Trump’s plan violates international law and human rights
Under international law, this plan violates several fundamental principles, including human rights law and the laws of war. According to the provisions of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 21), all peoples must have the right to self-determination.
This includes the right to choose one’s place of residence and to develop one’s territory. According to the Fourth Geneva Convention (adopted in 1949), the forcible transfer of persons in occupied territories is strictly prohibited. This convention states in particular in Article 49 that no state may expel them from its territory.
Arab countries oppose Trump’s proposal
The Wall Street Journal wrote in a report after the announcement of Trump’s plan: After strongly opposing the US President’s plan, Arab leaders agreed and approved the Egyptian government’s proposal, which presented a $53 billion reconstruction plan for Gaza without expelling its residents, at a meeting attended by Arab League leaders in Cairo.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom also supported the plan, calling it a realistic way to improve conditions in Gaza.
However, the United States and the Israeli regime also mutually opposed and rejected Egypt’s proposal.
The Israeli regime, while opposing the Arab League leaders’ plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, expressed concerns about Hamas’s presence in the reconstruction process of the region, claiming that any plan must include disarming Hamas and ensuring the security of the Zionist regime.
The human and social consequences of expelling Palestinians from Gaza
Trump’s plan to expel Gaza residents from the Strip and resettle them in neighboring or African countries, in addition to its political and legal aspects, has significant social consequences.
This plan, which has met with a lot of negative reactions, especially at the international level, could have many effects on the humanitarian situation of the Palestinians.
Regional instability
Al Jazeera noted in an article on the same subject: Trump’s plan, as a measure to resolve the Palestinian crisis, could have a major impact on destabilizing major parts of the Middle East and increasing tensions in the region.
Analysts believe that this plan not only poses a threat to regional peace and security, but could also affect Arab countries’ relations with the Israeli regime and even the United States.
The impact of this plan has been particularly noted after Trump’s insistence on more countries joining the “Abraham Pact” and normalizing relations with the Israeli regime. In other words, the Abraham Pact, which led to the normalization of relations between the Israeli regime and some Arab countries, could be affected by Trump’s proposal.
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Economic effects
In another article, Al Jazeera emphasized the opposition of Arab countries to Trump’s proposal to forcibly relocate Palestinians from Gaza, stressing: Arab countries, especially Egypt, consider this plan a threat to their security, because the relocation of millions of Palestinians could lead to new political and economic pressures in the host countries.
The New York Times also wrote in an article after Trump’s proposal to relocate Gaza residents and take over it by the United States: Over the past decades, control of Gaza has been one of the most important reasons for the conflict between the Arabs and the Israeli regime. Therefore, the plan to relocate the residents of this region is reminiscent of an era in which major Western powers changed territorial maps and forced the population of the region to leave their territory without regard for local autonomy.
According to the article of this American newspaper, Trump’s idea of ​​dominating parts of the Middle East is a violation of his commitments, which he repeatedly emphasized during his election campaign that he would not involve the United States in any conflict or war. However, according to this proposal, Trump talks about occupying the Gaza Strip without citing any legal authority.
The Associated Press wrote after Trump’s announced plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, emphasizing the far-reaching consequences of this proposal: Palestinians and many others see such a plan as ethnic cleansing and an attempt to drive them from their land after 18 months of all-out Israeli attacks that have now made their homes uninhabitable.
The Center for American Progress think tank also wrote in an article last month, calling Trump’s plan “dangerous,” and that the proposal reflects Washington’s misinterpretation of the interests of Arab partners.
According to the American think tank, politicians and lawmakers in the United States should know that indifference to the approach of Middle Eastern actors has only one result: the weakening of American interests in the region. This also causes regional actors to reduce their relations with the United States and take steps towards establishing relations with Washington’s enemies.