Donald Trump’s eye-popping plan to make Gaza American

GAZANS HAVE lived through 15 months of war between Hamas and Israel. They have been repeatedly displaced. Tens of thousands have been killed. But they could not have predicted President Donald Trump’s astonishing plan to end their misery: the eviction of all Palestinians and a full American takeover to turn Gaza into the “riviera of the Middle East”.

Arab governments were alarmed, worried such a move would cause instability. Britain, France and Germany condemned the proposal, and reaffirmed their support for a “two-state solution”, ie, the creation of a Palestinian state next to Israel. The UN warned deportations would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing, and would breach international law. In America some Republicans hailed the president’s plan as a stroke of genius; others looked askance. A far-right Israeli minister rejoiced, quoting a Biblical psalm: “The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”

Mr Trump hurled his bolt after a meeting at the White House with Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister. The president said America would “do a job” with the Gaza Strip. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.” America, he added, would take “a long-term ownership position”. Asked about sending American troops, Mr Trump replied, “If it’s necessary, we’ll do that.”

The president said he was entirely serious: “Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.” Palestinians, he said, could not live in the “a demolition site” of Gaza. Better for other countries to “open their hearts”, take them in and resettle them in new communities. Once rebuilt, people “from all over the world” would live in Gaza, including some Palestinians.

Mr Netanyahu seemed in equal parts delighted and nonplussed. He did not entertain the proposal in any detail, but praised Mr Trump and noted vaguely: “It’s worth paying attention to this…it’s something that could change history.”

To some Americans the plan looked like more imperial fancy—akin to Mr Trump’s provocative talk of buying Greenland—except more dangerous. Some worried that he had forgotten America’s bloody misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq, which he has long decried. Others wondered whether, as with his threats of tariffs, Mr Trump set out an outlandish position to gain negotiating leverage.

Amid the tumult, the White House soon reversed course. The press secretary said any removal of Palestinians would be temporary, and the president did not plan to deploy troops or spend taxpayer dollars in Gaza. Michael Waltz, the national security adviser, said the plan served to push “the entire region to come with their own solutions.” Leaks suggested Mr Trump had talked about his idea for weeks, but officials had made no plans for it.

Most proposals for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, including one from Mr Trump during his first term, have involved the formal partition of the land into a Palestinian state and a Jewish one. These have often provoked more violence.“You can’t keep doing the same mistake over and over again,” Mr Trump complained. “Gaza is a hell hole right now.”

Yet the idea of a Western colonial enterprise in Palestine has not been considered since Britain gave up the mandate for the territory in 1948 after years of violence. America refused to take up mandates in the Middle East after the fall of the Ottoman empire in the first world war.

Mr Trump appears to have plucked disparate ideas from the cauldron of the Middle East: the removal of Hamas from Gaza demanded by Mr Netanyahu; the eviction of Palestinians sought by his far-right allies; old dreams of turning Gaza into another Dubai; the hope of Arab petrodollars for its reconstruction; and calls for America to lead a peacekeeping force. To all this Mr Trump has also added the real-estate mogul’s zeal for redevelopment.

Mr Netanyahu’s team had expected Mr Trump to urge Israel to start the talks for the second phase of its truce with Hamas, involving a permanent cessation of hostilities and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces. The third phase would involve the rebuilding of Gaza. All this would prepare the way for Saudi Arabia to normalise relations with Israel, in exchange for progress towards a Palestinian state, thereby forging a grand coalition of America, Israel and pro-Western Arab regimes. Mr Trump’s idea that America would carve out Gaza for itself was beyond the Israelis’ imagination.

Mr Netanyahu knows well the difficulties (and illegality) of such a plan. Gazans would not volunteer for another nakba, or “catastrophe”, the name Palestinians give to their displacement during the birth of Israel in 1948. Arab leaders, though privately indifferent to the plight of Palestinians, cannot be seen to connive in pushing them out of their homeland. And no Arab country wants to take in many more disgruntled Palestinians. Egypt and Jordan have refused. Mr Trump shrugged. “They say they’re not going to accept. I say they will.”

Mr Netanyahu seems willing to play along, both to strengthen bonds with Mr Trump and to exploit his plan for domestic advantage. The prime minister’s far-right allies are threatening to bring down his government if he presses ahead with a full ceasefire. Mr Netanyahu has tried to buy himself more time by continuing to insist on total victory in Gaza. But that opens a potentially damaging gap with Mr Trump, who expressed confidence that the ceasefire deal will be implemented fully. The president’s Gaza plan may throw the prime minister a lifeline. The far-right will probably not bring down the government and jeopardise its dream of resettling Gaza.

That threat explains Saudi Arabia’s prompt riposte, which said it would “not establish diplomatic relations with Israel” without the creation of a Palestinian state. And yet might the Saudis accept a deal that forestalls Mr Trump’s plan and saves Palestinians from mass expulsion? Saudi officials insist they will not.

Arab leaders are wary of antagonising the president. But if Mr Trump is serious about his latest proposal, a forceful condemnation may follow. Mr Trump has built his success on the idea of “Make America Great Again”. His devotees probably did not sign up for “Make Gaza American”. ■

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