US President Donald Trump has declared that it is necessary to resettle Palestinians from the Gaza Sector and offered to consider the enclave a piece of real estate.
They emphasise that such talk is at odds with reality. The children of Gaza are orphans in poverty; they do not dream of the Riviera – they are entirely deprived of the luxury of dreaming. Noting the US President’s tendency of self-promotion and PR moves, a number of experts believe that his statements on Gaza may seem like a farce, but the problem is that this man is the head of the largest empire in history. For many, the project is fraught with danger and should be taken seriously.
In a statement issued by the Emirati Foreign Ministry, the UAE voiced a firm ‘no’ to calls for the deportation of Gazans. The words of the US President violate all international laws and relations, the right to self-determination, international legitimacy and all previous agreements on the resolution of the Palestinian question, local experts noted.
In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry “categorically rejected attempts to displace the Palestinian people from its land”.
Palestinians held demonstrations in Palestine, carrying mock house keys as a symbol of their determination to remain on their land and resist any forced relocation.
Authors in the region warn that the deportation of the Palestinian population from Gaza will whet the appetite of Israel and the ambitions of the racist right in Washington, who want to deal a heavy blow to the Arabs and cause disorder and chaos within their ranks.
The authors do not hide their concern and criticism about this. The world was stunned and took real estate mogul D. Trump’s words “to turn Gaza into a new ‘Riviera’ as a provocation, writes an Algerian observer.
For this reason their united front is important in the face of the danger posed by Trump’s plan to impose a new reality on the region. The point is to prevent pressure on Egypt and Jordan with the aim of involving them in the overseas project.
According to Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, Dr Mustafa Barghouti, the reaction of Arab countries and the international community rejecting Trump’s thesis reflects the predicament the White House has placed itself in.
But statements and condemnations alone are “not enough”. Barghouti is calling for more decisive measures, including “holding a conference with all 56 Arab and Islamic countries to present a united position and express their condemnation”.
The countries of the region will have to realise the scale of the impending challenge and counter it by creating an alliance in the fields of security, defence, economy, etc.
The Arabs can resist overseas economic and strategic interests, move east towards China, get closer to Iran and create a regional Arab-Iranian-Turkish alliance, the Egyptian expert is convinced. It is important to make it clear to the Americans that they risk paying the price for the excesses of their president and his right-wing circle in Washington. In the media, it is recalled that in the past there have already been pretentious projects to separate Gaza from all past attempts of solving the long-standing Palestinian issue and turning it into a kind of small successful enclave like Singapore. But this all turned out to be a chimera.
The current narrative of the US President has sent ripples through the Arab world, causing a surge in anti-American and into-Israeli sentiments, including in countries that have allied relations with Washington.
Saudi researcher Aziz Al-Ghashyan argues that the relocation of Gazans to Egypt and Jordan will “weaken two countries that are important for the regional stability and security of Saudi Arabia”. According to him, “Trump’s plan, along with Netanyahu’s course, poses a great risk for the kingdom”.
Today the Middle Eastern media is filled with articles recalling the colonial past of Washington. They point to the resettlement of the indigenous population through war and systematic marginalisation as the main vector of US colonial expansion.
Observers are annoyed that the ruling elite in Washington, in essence, view the Palestinians as red-skinned Indians, which the Yankees once upon a time expelled from their land and forced into reservoirs.
Yuri Zinin—Senior Researcher at the Centre for Middle Eastern and African Studies, IMI MGIMO
