Trump’s Proposal for Moving Gaza’s Population Sparks Accusations of ‘Ethnic Cleansing’
Trump calls on Jordan & Egypt to take Gazans, drawing controversy. Israeli right applauds, left condemns as “ethnic cleansing.” Jordan and Egypt reject the plan, citing security risks
US President Donald Trump called on Jordan and Egypt to accept more Palestinians from Gaza as the war-torn territory recovers from a 15-month-long deadly conflict with Israel.
Trump spoke aboard the presidential aircraft Air Force One on Saturday.
“It’s a mess. It’s a real mess,” the American president told reporters when referring to the Gaza Strip and calling on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II to allow for the entry of Gaza residents into their countries.
What could be referred to as displacement by some or relocation by others made Trump’s call contentious.
In the Israeli right wing, his call was welcomed. On the left, amongst those who favor a political solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the American leader was condemned and ridiculed.
“I really want to believe that this is not a serious story. I want to believe that if Trump did say this, it is the result of the last conversation that he had with some crazy Israeli settlement leader,” Gershon Baskin, a social and political activist, posted on his social media accounts Sunday. “I hope that he understands that what he is suggesting is ethnic cleansing and should never even be whispered as a wish.”
Ultra-nationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called it “a great idea.”
“For years, statesmen have been proposing unworkable solutions such as partitioning the land and a Palestinian state that have jeopardized the existence and security of the only Jewish state in the world,” Smotrich posted on his X account. “I will work closely with the Prime Minister and the cabinet to ensure that there is an operational plan to implement this as soon as possible.”
Smotrich represents a far-right sector of the current coalition, which has also called for the resettlement of Gaza with Jewish inhabitants. Israel withdrew its army and settlements from the Gaza Strip in 2005 after decades of controlling the Strip. Hamas, an organization dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state, violently took over in 2007, removing the Palestinian Authority from power just two years after Israel left Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment on Trump’s suggestion. He has, however, dismissed notions of resettlement since they surfaced in the immediate aftermath of the war. Netanyahu’s relationship with the previous American administration, led by former US President Joe Biden, was fraught. With the backing of a more pro-Israeli White House, the Israeli leader might feel less restricted in supporting such policies.
Trump’s suggestion comes after a week of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The war began with a surprise attack executed by Hamas on October 7, 2023. During the attack, approximately 1200 were killed, thousands more injured, and around 250 people were taken hostage by the terrorist group. Ninety hostages remain in captivity; some of them are slated for release as part of the current ceasefire. Others, whose fate is unknown, may be released in the second phase of the ceasefire should it be successfully negotiated in the coming weeks.
Israel retaliated with full force and launched a massive offensive in the Gaza Strip, openly stating its intention to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and remove it from power. According to the Gaza-run Hamas Health Ministry, over 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war and approximately 110,000 injured. The UN data shows that almost 1.9 million of the 2.1 million population in the coastal territory have been displaced during the war.
One Gazan resident, Osama, told The Media Line, “I do not see that you can see peace outside your country, even if your country is destroyed, even if we live in a tent in the middle of the street. We cannot live in peace outside my homeland, Gaza.”
“The people of Gaza are fighting for an idea, a land, and a homeland. No human being can abandon their homeland, whatever the cost and whatever the circumstances,” he continued. “Israel tried to displace us and ethnically cleanse us under bombardment and displacement, and that does not succeed because they are fighting an idea and a belief.”
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During the conflict, Israel, Egypt, and Jordan successfully maintained their relations, often strained throughout the years because of the Palestinian issue.
Gaza borders both Israel and Egypt. Both have imposed a strict blockade on the territory since Hamas took over. Gaza’s crossing to Egypt in the southern city of Rafah is considered one of the entry points that enabled Hamas to accumulate military power, both by smuggling arms through the official border and also through a network of cross-border tunnels that cross into Egypt.
Trump with simplicity is saying these countries should take the refugees–something that should have happened from day one of the war. Egypt cynically blocked the border and did this in order to create pressure on Israel and to make it look bad.
“Trump with simplicity is saying these countries should take the refugees–something that should have happened from day one of the war,” Yishai Fleischer, spokesperson for the Jewish community of Hebron in the West Bank, told The Media Line. “Egypt cynically blocked the border and did this in order to create pressure on Israel and to make it look bad.”
Egypt has played a critical role during the war. It has helped mediate the current ceasefire and has operated as a funnel through which humanitarian aid has entered Gaza. Egypt has accepted an estimated 100,000 Palestinians throughout the war, including many injured for treatment.
Egypt vehemently opposed a massive displacement of Gazans to Egypt due to internal security reasons and the concern that the Palestinian issue would be resolved at the expense of its national interests.
“Egypt vehemently opposed a massive displacement of Gazans to Egypt due to internal security reasons and the concern that the Palestinian issue would be resolved at the expense of its national interests,” Dr. Ofir Winter, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, told The Media Line.
Jordan and Israel share a 480-kilometer-long border, which is Israel’s longest. It is estimated that around half of Jordan’s population is of Palestinian descent, making relations with Israel a contentious issue in the Hashemite Kingdom. Tipping the balance by increasing the Palestinian population in the kingdom is an unwanted outcome for the King. Throughout the decadeslong Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Jordan has tried to position itself as the guardian of the Palestinian cause.
Like Egypt, Jordan also has a deep concern that the solution to the Palestinian problem will come at its expense and by making it an alternative homeland for the Palestinians. This is perceived as an existential threat to the future of the kingdom. While it has taken in Palestinian refugees since 1948, it is the Kingdom’s desire to maintain its own unique national identity. This means it seeks the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.
“Like Egypt, Jordan also has a deep concern that the solution to the Palestinian problem will come at its expense and by making it an alternative homeland for the Palestinians. This is perceived as an existential threat to the future of the kingdom,” Winter explained. “While it has taken in Palestinian refugees since 1948, it is the kingdom’s desire to maintain its own unique national identity. This means it seeks the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.”
The US president’s suggestion appeared to ignore the deeply fragmented Palestinian leadership. Instead, Trump focused his call on Jordanian and Egyptian leaders. The US is largely vested in the region, supplying ample financial and defense aid to both countries. This could be used as leverage to pressure them to open their borders.
Trump’s statement could be perceived as a threat that will incentivize both countries to take a more active role in solving the Palestinian issue in order to avoid the nightmare in which they will be asked to take in a significant number of refugees permanently. The scenario by which Palestinian refugees are forced upon both countries is against both of their fundamental beliefs and is therefore unrealistic.
“Trump’s statement could be perceived as a threat that will incentivize both countries to take a more active role in solving the Palestinian issue in order to avoid the nightmare in which they will be asked to take in a significant number of refugees permanently,” Winter said. “The scenario by which Palestinian refugees are forced upon both countries is against both of their fundamental beliefs and is therefore unrealistic.”
The discourse in Israel and Trump’s suggestion largely ignore the will of Palestinians.
“Yes, see, we go to Egypt and Jordan with all love, but this matter is optional,” Osama told The Media Line. “No one can impose anything on me or displace me. Our grandfathers and fathers do not abandon their home, even if it is destroyed, and they do not leave their streets and neighbors, but there are some young people who can think about immigrating to Europe because it has many opportunities for the future.”
There might be Palestinians who would want to leave Gaza, but I believe the majority doesn’t. If people want to relocate willingly, that is one thing, but to talk about forcible transport—that is impossible, and it won’t happen.
“There might be Palestinians who would want to leave Gaza, but I believe the majority doesn’t,” Mossi Raz, a former left-wing Israeli member of parliament, told The Media Line. “If people want to relocate willingly, that is one thing, but to talk about forcible transport—that is impossible, and it won’t happen.”
Raz said he could not foresee the US sending troops to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt or Jordan should they refuse to leave.
“It may solve a personal problem for some of Gaza’s residents, but it will not solve the Palestinian issue,” said Raz. “The conflict will only be mitigated through a political solution. This has been proven yet again in the past year – there is no military solution to the conflict, only a political one in which both sides will need to compromise.”
“This is mostly talk and no action,” Raz added.
Israel is currently governed by the most right-wing government to ever rule. Its far-right policies have been condemned consistently by the majority of the international community. Netanyahu and his partners rule out the establishment of a Palestinian state, making Trump’s latest idea music to their ears.
“I believe that the Palestinian people, especially the people of Gaza, do not care who controls the country after the genocide,” Osama continued. “This is my belief that we yearn for it, and it will provide us with lasting peace, because in Gaza we have gone through many wars, and we need to live above the land in all comfort and security, whether the Palestinian Authority or others, it does not matter, the most important thing is the people.”
Palestinianism—a replacement effort against Israel—needs to stop. Finding them (the Palestinians) homes and a decent life elsewhere is an incredible opportunity for this region that can calm down the whole jihadist track to eat away at our land and replace Israel.
“Palestinianism—a replacement effort against Israel—needs to stop,” said Fleischer. “Finding them (the Palestinians) homes and a decent life elsewhere is an incredible opportunity for this region that can calm down the whole jihadist track to eat away at our land and replace Israel.”
Throughout his previous term, Trump has offered non-traditional views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He recognized Israeli sovereignty over east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, departing from decades of international consensus on those territories. He also sponsored peace between Israel and several Gulf states, abandoned years in which it was believed such relations could not be forged without solving the Palestinian conflict beforehand. Yet the war in Gaza catapulted the decades-old conflict back to the headlines, showing it could not be ignored as a major element of the political reality in the region.
“On the one hand, it is important to try and create out-of-the-box political solutions for Gaza and the Palestinian problem,” said Winter. “On the other hand, coercing a solution that is considered a red-line for both Egypt and Jordan could create tensions and endanger peace agreements.”
Now, at the start of a new era in the White House, Trump’s often out-of-the-box ideas will be tested.
Giorgia Valente contributed to this article
