Link to article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjexp347yxlo
On Thursday, President Donald Trump recently posted on his Truth Social platform that there will be a plan put into action about evacuating Gaza and then having Gaza be turned over to the US and reconstructed. It is still up in the air about whether this plan can and/or will be put into action, but there have been some serious responses to Trump’s statements. Israel’s defense minister Katz is planning on preparing his military to move Palestinians out of Gaza for all those who wish to leave or may be forced to leave and Katz also stated that other countries were “legally obligated” to take in the displaced Palestinians such as Egypt, Jordan, Spain, Norway and Ireland. He also mentioned that Hamas was preventing people from leaving Gaza and Hamas official Basem Naim said that Palestinians would refuse to leave. In response to Trump’s statements about taking over Gaza, reconstructing it and having it handed over to the US by Israel, the Palestinian presidency said Palestine is “not for sale”. The UN has stated that anything such as forcible transfer or deportation would be considered as prohibited under international law.
I think this article is very important for the Middle East because it is quite an extreme statement about what could happen in Gaza. I’m not sure if this move is possible or likely, but I do believe it should be taken seriously because if any country would be able to take on an endeavor like this, the US is one of them. I think that this will separate Israel more from other Middle Eastern countries if they do not believe that this is an ethical thing to do because it is no longer only fighting against each other, but clearing out a whole piece of territory. I also think it would complicate relations and dynamics in the Middle East as a whole if the US had a strong presence right next to a strong allied country such as Israel.
I expect Israel to go along with the US’s plan of evacuating Gaza and wanting to reconstruct that area, but I don’t see why or how they would agree to hand over that area to the US or how that would work without US soldiers which was Trump’s plan. I am not sure whether the US will put their words into action, but if they do, I expect this to be a longer process rather than very quick because of the amount of people that will not or cannot leave Palestine or Gaza. This connects because it shows an interventionist approach to the Israel-Hamas war by the US and how a non-recognized state can play such a major factor in international relations.