How Trump’s Gaza plan opens Pandora’s box – Firstpost

On February 11, Donald J Trump completed twenty-two days in the Oval Office in his second term as the 47th President of the United States of America. Even within such a brief period, the mercurial and unpredictable Trump has upended the country he aims to make “Great Again”, shattered an already fragile world order, and rattled both allies and adversaries alike.

Damaging America

Ruth Marcus, the celebrated columnist for the Washington Post, considers the first two weeks of Trump 2.0 as the most damaging first two weeks in the history of the American presidency. In her opinion piece from February 4, she wrote:

“No president in history has caused more damage to the nation more quickly. As we enter Week 3 of President Donald Trump’s second term, the chaos and disruption of his first look quaint by comparison. The country survived Trump 1.0. Now, it faces a real threat that the harm he inflicts during his second term will be irreparable. The United States’ standing in the world, its ability to keep the country safe, the federal government’s fundamental capacity to operate effectively — all of these will take years to repair, if that can be achieved at all.”

More Damaging to the World

While Ruth’s piece focused on the damage Trump has caused to the constitution and the very fabric of governance in the US, this piece delves into the larger damage he is causing to the global world order. Here are the three main areas already rattling the world in just three weeks of Trump’s second term:

1. Tariff, Tariff, and Tariff:
Trump has already initiated a trade war with the announcement of tariffs on Canada and Mexico (his allies, though suspended for a month as a bargaining tool) and China (his adversary). He has now announced that he will levy “reciprocal tariffs”. And Trump just raised 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum.

2. Deport, Deport, and Deport:

Trump aims to deport all immigrants living in the US illegally during his four-year term. However, he knows that this is not feasible. According to the Center for Migration Studies, there are 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US. They drive the country’s economic growth, and their deportation would not only be extraordinarily costly but also a logistical nightmare. Nevertheless, Trump is resorting to high-visibility deportations, including the inhumane act of shackling the hands and feet of vulnerable women and children.

3. Annex, Annex, and Annex:
Trump’s most dangerous agenda, however, involves annexing foreign territories. His intentions have been made clear:

• Canada: He wants Canada, a sovereign nation, to become the 51st state of the US.

• Greenland: Trump seeks control of Greenland, a largely autonomous territory of Denmark in the Arctic, and the world’s largest island.

• Panama Canal: He wants the US to control the Panama Canal “in full, quickly, and without question”, even stating that he would use the military to annex it if necessary.

The Biggest Folly

While these plans to take over non-American territories, whether through voluntary amalgamation or forceful annexation, would create chaos in the already fragile world order, Trump’s latest and “biggest folly” crosses all limits of civility. He has completely disregarded international conventions, particularly the Geneva Accords of 1949.

So, what is Trump’s biggest folly? What are its implications for the world? And more importantly, should Trump be allowed to follow through with his agenda? If not, what must be done to stop his threat to the world order? These are the subjects at the heart of this discussion.

Riviera of the Middle East

On Tuesday, February 4, in a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump audaciously stated:

“The US will take over the Gaza Strip. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out.”

He further said, “We will send its Palestinian residents to a ‘beautiful area with homes and safety… so that they can live out their lives in peace and harmony’,” boasting that he would turn the territory into “the Riviera of the Middle East”.

And as Trump made it clear aboard Air Force One on February 10, he was going to develop this big real estate site and Palestinians will have no place for them in the New Gaza of his dream.

Out of the Box

Standing beside Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump’s plan, calling it “out of the box,” and referred to the idea of displacing Palestinians from Gaza as “the first original idea to be raised in years… worth listening very carefully”. In his most recent statement on Sunday, Netanyahu called Trump’s new plan “revolutionary”.

Steps Ahead

Initially, when Trump suggested displacing Palestinians from Gaza, his plan was to resettle them in nearby countries such as Jordan and Egypt. However, Netanyahu has expanded on this idea, suggesting the creation of a separate state for Palestinians within “Saudi Arabian territory”, claiming that the Saudis possess large portions of land suitable for the purpose.

What It Means

Though Trump has focused on the eviction of Palestinians from Gaza, Netanyahu’s broader agenda includes the annexation of the West Bank. This means not only the fate of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza is at stake, but also that the plan involves the eviction of 3.4 million Palestinians from the West Bank. This creates a monumental humanitarian crisis and a refugee problem of unprecedented scale, while also disregarding international conventions.

End of the Two-State Theory

The two-state solution, which has been the foundation of international consensus since 1993, was designed to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by establishing two states for two peoples: Israel for the Jewish people and Palestine for the Palestinian people. Trump’s latest plan effectively kills the two-state solution and formalizes its burial.

Nakba Returns

The Palestinian population has long been accustomed to catastrophe, or “Nakba” in Arabic. In 1948, during and after the establishment of Israel, approximately half of Palestine’s predominantly Arab population was displaced by violent means, often through massacres and the destruction of villages. With Israel having already killed nearly 50,000 people (including a disproportionately large number of women and children) and displaced over a million during the Gaza war, Trump’s plan to occupy Gaza and depopulate it of its Palestinian residents represents a return to the Nakba—only this time, the situation threatens to be even more sinister.

Unlawful, Immoral, and Completely Irresponsible

Emptying Gaza of its residents is, in effect, a call for ethnic cleansing. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that “it is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing” after Trump’s remarks about “owning” Gaza and resettling Palestinians. Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, has called Trump’s plan “unlawful, immoral, and completely irresponsible”, stating that it “will make the regional crisis even worse”.

Harshest Disapprobation

The Trump plan has sparked shock and horror across the world and has drawn the sharpest disapproval from nations across the globe, both friends and foes of the US. Countries such as France, Germany, the UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Russia, China, India, Turkey, and the entire Arab world have condemned the plan. Apart from the far-right in Israel and Trump’s staunchest supporters, no one aligns with this unacceptable course of action.

Time to Stop an Unstoppable Trump

Trump has vowed to upend and disrupt the world with his unrealistic plans to displace the Palestinian population from their homeland. What he proposes is nothing short of ethnic cleansing. Fortunately, it remains an idea in its early stages. Though Trump may be unstoppable, it is the responsibility of nations to stand against this reprehensible idea. It is time to remind the world that when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict, there is only one acceptable solution: the two-state solution. Period.

The author is a multi-disciplinary thought leader with Action Bias and an India based impact consultant. He is a keen watcher of changing national and international scenarios. He works as President Advisory Services of Consulting Company BARSYL. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.