Trump acquits Israel, shifts Gaza problem to Arabs
Trump’s radical proposal to expel Gaza’s two million Palestinians to Arab lands may have exposed the US–Israeli ethnic cleansing agenda, but it is calculatingly geared as a threat to pressure Arab states to normalize ties with Israel.
US President Donald Trump has once again ignited global controversy by proposing the displacement of Gaza’s two million residents – an idea so extreme it appeared to catch even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu off guard.
The proposal, which would amount to ethnically cleansing Gaza, envisions transforming the strip into a luxurious “Riviera of the Middle East.” It not only showcases the ongoing disregard for Palestinian lives and sacrifices, but also reaffirms the deep-seated US bipartisan support for the Zionist project in Washington's political circles.
For 75 years, Palestinians have resisted efforts to erase their presence from their historic homeland. Now, after 15 months of war, Gaza’s resilience has forced the occupation state to acknowledge a new battlefield reality. Yet Trump’s proposal aims to dismantle that defiance, framing ethnic cleansing as an investment opportunity while further entrenching US–Israeli coordination at the expense of Arab states.
What makes this moment particularly alarming is the way Trump has positioned himself as the architect of a sweeping regional realignment in which West Asian states are stripped of all agency.
His attempt to package mass displacement as part of a “peace” initiative reveals a broader strategy: pressuring Arab states to further embrace the 2020 Abraham Accords – normalization with Israel – while sidelining the Palestinian cause altogether.
Displacement: A “crazy” plan or a calculated move?
Even in the US, many dismissed Trump’s proposal to relocate Gaza’s two million residents as a “crazy” idea. Yet, its shockwaves reverberateddeafeningly through Jordan and Egypt, triggering fears not seen in decades about forced Palestinian displacement. Saudi Arabia, widely believed to be next in line to normalize with Tel Aviv – if Trump has his way – sharply rebuked Washington.
In an article for the KSA newspaper Okaz, Saudi Shura Council member Yousef bin Trad Al-Saadoun lashed out:
“If he (Trump) truly wants to be a hero of peace and achieve stability and prosperity for the Middle East (West Asia), he should relocate his beloved Israelis to the state of Alaska and then to Greenland – after annexing it.”
To Palestinians and much of the world, Trump’s plan appeared to be an attempt to break Gaza’s resistance movement, Hamas, which, after 15 months of relentless war, has not only withstood the US-backed Israeli war machine but has imposed its own terms on the “day after” scenario. Hamas emerged from the trenches with raised rifles, forcing the occupation to acknowledge its power in prisoner-exchange negotiations.
Last week, the spectacle of Trump and Netanyahu standing side by side in the White House was both surreal and unsettling. Trump, convicted of multiple criminal offenses, and Netanyahu, wantedby the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes, discussed the future of Gaza and its people with stunning nonchalance. Even Netanyahu appeared caught off guard by the extremity of Trump’s vision for a US-led takeover of the Palestinian territory.
The ‘real estate deal’ of the century
Trump's framing of Gaza as a “real estate deal” is an audacious attempt to strip Arab states of their remaining political leverage. Saudi Arabia, which has long sought to maintain a veneer of commitment to the two-state solution, is now being maneuvered into a position where its diplomatic stance is undermined.
Repeated affirmations from Riyadh that Palestinian statehood is a prerequisite for normalization with Israel seem increasingly at odds with US and Israeli messaging.
Trump further escalated this pressure by claiming that Saudi Arabia seeks peace with Israel without conditioning it on Palestinian statehood. Netanyahu swiftly reinforced this claim in a tone dripping with sarcasm, suggesting that Saudis “can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there.”
This American–Israeli coordination highlights a dangerous trend: an intensification of pressure on Saudi Arabia, which has thus far resisted all normalization entreaties by the US. Given its symbolic and strategic role in the Muslim world, Riyadh faces a precarious dilemma. Moving toward normalization without securing Palestinian statehood could be a gamble with the very legitimacy of the ruling Al-Saud family.
Economically vulnerable Jordan, meanwhile, finds itself in an even more unenviable position. Trump has floated both Jordan and Egypt as potential destinations for displaced Palestinians, triggering frantic diplomatic activity within the Cairo–Riyadh–Amman triangle.
However, as history has shown, Arab diplomatic reactions often come too late. An “emergency” Arab summit to address the crisis is scheduled for 27 February, a timeline that hardly conveys a sense of urgency.
Cairo, wary of Trump’s machinations, has reportedly warned Washington, European allies, and Tel Aviv that its 50-year-old peace treaty with Israel is at risk if forced displacement moves forward. Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi went further, calling any attempt to relocate Palestinians a “declaration of war.”
Yet, despite the tough rhetoric, both Cairo and Amman remain vulnerable. Trump’s ability to manipulate financial aid as leverage could push Jordan into deeper dependence on Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Egypt, already navigating an economic crisis, faces a similar predicament.
Regional and global opposition
Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, told CNN that he expected Arab and Muslim countries, along with other nations and Europe, to take up the issue at the UN to show that the world opposed “this mad ethnic cleansing plan.”
“It is a fantasy to think that ethnic cleansing in the 21st century can be condoned by a world community that stays on its behind, and does not respond to that…The problem in Palestine is not the Palestinians. It is the Israeli occupation. And this has been clear and understood by everybody.”
Prince Turki went further by penning an open letter to President Trump in the UAE newspaper The National, saying:
“Most of the people of Gaza are refugees, driven out of their homes in what is now Israel and the West Bank by the previous Israeli genocidal assault on them in the 1948 and 1967 wars. If they are to be moved from Gaza, they should be allowed to return to their homes and to their orange and olive groves in Haifa, Jaffa and other towns and villages from which they fled or were forcibly driven out by the Israelis.”
Writing in Haaretz, Israeli columnist Zvi Bar'el argues that:
“Until now, Middle Eastern (West Asian) countries have been classified by their geopolitical alignment – the moderate Sunni axis or the pro-US axis, the Shiite axis or the so-called Iranian axis of evil. On Tuesday, Trump introduced a new one: the axis of fear.”
But Bar'el predicts that Cairo and Amman may be subjected to American anger and economic threat because of their stance on the Trump plan, and that Saudi Arabia may not be able to remain silent about it.
Internationally, Trump’s proposal has sparked widespread condemnation. From the UN to European capitals, Moscow, Beijing, and the Global South, there has been little support for his Gaza proposal. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi even mocked the plan, suggesting that if Trump was so keen on deportation, he should send Israelis to Greenland instead, “so they can kill two birds with one stone,” referring to Trump’s comments on acquiring the Danish territory.
While Trump has attempted to downplay his plan in the face of mounting criticism, lately describing it as “not urgent,” the damage is already done. Legal experts have labeled the proposal a “war crime,” a calculated act of ethnic cleansing masquerading as an investment opportunity.
Dealing with the displacement scheme
Statements from Saudi, Egyptian, and Jordanian officials reaffirming their commitment to a two-state solution are not enough. The mini-summit held in Cairo earlier this month with representatives from Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the collaborative Palestinian Authority (PA), and the Arab League must be followed by broader, more decisive action.
A Palestinian source from the resistance factions tells The Cradle that Arab states need to mobilize beyond mere diplomatic statements. Coordinated engagement with European capitals, Moscow, Beijing, and the wider Islamic world is critical to countering the Trump–Netanyahu scheme, which the Israeli right is eager to implement.
Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, has already instructed the military to draft a plan facilitating “voluntary” departures from Gaza. This effort to rebrand ethnic cleansing as a humanitarian initiative compliments the brazenness of the Trump–Netanyahu agenda.
Gaza lies in ruins, a devastation wrought by Netanyahu’s war machine, with no US condemnation in sight. And yet, rather than accountability, Trump offers a new chapter of displacement and normalization, a policy that could reshape the region in ways that will reverberate for generations.
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