Donald Trump’s disruptive Gaza plan

Just about two weeks ago during Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, President Donald Trump during the press conference made a proposal that the United States “takes over” the Gaza Strip and “own it”.That comment came as a big shock to observers around the worldas no one saw that coming. In his words, “The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling allofthe dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings”. He went ahead to say that I don’t want to be a wise guy but the Riviera of the Middle East, this could be something that could be so magnificent”. Trump’s initiative would see about 1.8 million inhabitants of Gaza leave the Strip and be taken in by Egypt, Jordan and maybe elsewhere in the region. He is of the opinion that his vision would prevent the region from further conflict, instability and bring lasting peace.

That defining moment caused a seismic shift in the Middle East and sent shockwaves across the world stirring up debates and conversations. It has unsettled the region with the wider Arab world warning of total instability and security collapse in the region if the plans are implemented. Even though the floating of this proposal is a way of looking at things differently, with the aim to avoiding the old conventional ideas and pitfalls that have stalled progress towards peace in the region, it however appears to be a call that will raise fresh problems and unending hostilities. Whilst many have described his remarkas absurd, inconceivable, disturbing, provocativeand even ethnic cleansing others have described it as bold, creative, daring and a fresh thinking to addressing a complex Israel-Palestinian conflict that has defied all attempts to bring peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbours. WhereasTrump has chosen to view the entire conflict from a completely different prism,his proposal has been met with global condemnation. It is nothing short of a disruptive plan.

Trump has reiterated that residence of Gaza will go to Jordan and Egypt and that America will take over that piece of real estate and make it a “Riviera of the Middle East and own it” and that the displaced Palestinians will not be returning. This is nerve racking for the people of the region and has been outrightly rejected by the Palestinian people themselves. It has been widely criticized and has received immediate pushbacks from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, from the entire region and from political pundits around the world.The Saudi’s have made their position very clear. They opposed any plan that will see the Palestinian people displaced and reaffirmed that normalization relations withIsraelis directly tied to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Cairo reacted immediately by deployingmore troop to bolster its military presence in the SinaiPeninsular which is in violation of the peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979 just to register their disapproval of Trump’s position on Gaza toprevent Gazans from crossing the border into Egyptian territory. This has also kept the Israelis watching closely every move by the Egyptians. Few days after Trump’s statement was made, king Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, made a quick trip to Washington to meet with the US president. In their discussion at the White House, President Donald Trump doubled down on what he had posited previously about the Palestinians moving out of Gaza so that the enclave can be cleared out for construction to begin. For Jordan taking in the displaced people of Gaza is a suicide mission. Already the kingdom is home to a large population of Palestinians and taking in more would amount to serious security threats that would only lead to the imminent collapse of the kingdom its leadership believes. King Abdullah in that meetingsaid to President Trump that the Egyptians have an alternativeplan in place and will be presenting it soon. That stratagem is that Egypt has offered to rebuild Gaza without the Palestinians having to leave. As I was concluding this piece, Egypt had begun to move heavy machinery and construction equipment into Rafahin a move that looks like the beginning of a reconstruction effort. Is this a genuine move to begin the rebuilding process or a measure to stop Donald Trump’s Riviera vision? As the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi heads to Riyadh instead of Washington as previously planned for possible collaboration effort for the rebuilding of the territory, observers that are against Trump’s move, want to see something concrete come out of their meeting.

Will the US President’sidea for Gaza see the light of day or will it not? Was it a ploy to get creative ideas and alternative opinions on the table? Or will he drop his plans for the territory and support Egypt’s alternative plan? Only time will tell.  My view is that Trump’s vision is not likely to succeed as implementation does not look feasible however Trump is a deals man, very unpredictable and the most powerful man in the world. He must have thought deep about it maybe with his team before making those declarations. What will the US be offering to critical stakeholders involved to make this happen? Will the Palestinians be willing to leave Gaza? If yes, will Cairo, Amman, Riyadh shift grounds and accept to take in the Palestinians? The coming weeks, months and maybe even years have the answers.

Gaza as things stand today is inhabitable and a large percentage of the people if asked, would want to leave and go elsewhere to start a new life to live in dignity and prosperity after the war Hamas started with Israel in October 2023 had stripped the citizens of the enclave of all they had worked for. The bad news is that the borders are shut against them, and no one is willing to take in those displaced people for fear that the land will be taken over.  This is the reality on ground.

The Israel-Palestinian conflict has shown that there are no easy solutions to the dispute. The challenge has become greatly complicated with no clear path to resolution.The two-state solution that has been the only option on the table appear to have been abandoned by the Israelis because for them, there is no peace partner on the other side as every peace process in the past has only suffered setbacks. Hamas which has been running Gaza has vowed never to recognise the state of Israel and has gone to war with Israel 5 times since it took over power in 2006.The all-important question that therefore presents itself after checking all the facts is, can peace ever be achieved in this turbulent region?Or should the people accept that there is no other way out but to live by the sword?

Uwem Samson Udom is a business service expert who is passionate about nationaland global affairs. He writes from Lagos and can be reached at [email protected]