Washington, DC – According to experts, Donald Trump has been credited with putting an end to the Gaza war. However, the president’s proposal to forcibly relocate the Palestinians in the area could undermine the agreement.
Trump called for the US to “take over” the Palestinian territory and for the Palestinians to be depopulated, calling for a campaign that rights groups claim would lead to ethnic cleansing this week.
Leaders from all over the world have warned that the Middle East would become unbalanced if Palestinians were to be removed from Gaza. More immediately, Trump’s comments could derail the push towards an enduring end to the fighting in the territory.
According to Josh Ruebner, a lecturer in Georgetown University’s Justice and Peace program, “President Trump’s completely outrageous and outrageous calls for the ethnic cleansing of more than two million Palestinian people from Gaza severely undermines the chances that the ceasefire will continue.”
“Of course, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians was not in any ceasefire agreement, and by Trump putting that option on the table, he stands to wreck the very fragile process”.
The ceasefire was effective on January 19, the day before Trump’s second term began. However, the US president asserts that Steve Witkoff, the US president, was instrumental in securing the deal.
In his inaugural speech, Trump vowed to leave a “peacemaker and unifier” legacy by invoking the ceasefire.
We had no bearing in it, they claimed.
Days later, Trump suggested emptying Gaza of its inhabitants. Initially, it was easy to dismiss the comments as one of his off-the-cuff, hyperbolic pronouncements.
But he kept repeating them. While speaking at the White House alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he read prepared remarks that gave his proposal more depth.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it”, Trump said.
Despite Trump’s comments, the ceasefire has continued to hold. Hamas plans to release three more Israeli captives in the coming days in exchange for 183 Palestinians held by Israel, but the guns remain silent.
However, the US president’s proposal raises questions about the later stages of the truce deal, which include discussions about the future of Gaza.
The first phase, which will result in the release of 33 Israeli prisoners, a significant increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, and a partial Israeli withdrawal from the territory, is scheduled to end on March 1.
The second stage is supposed to result in the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, a permanent ceasefire, and the release of all Hamas’s prisoners. A five-year reconstruction plan for Gaza is included in the third stage.
Trump’s demand that Gazans leave the area completely seems to conflict with the agreement’s spirit.
And there are indications that the US administration is no longer fully committed to the brokering deal that it has been touting.
Washington’s envoy Witkoff suggested on Tuesday that the government would push for the release of all Israeli prisoners. But he seemed to renege on the third stage — rebuilding Gaza — saying that it “can’t go the way that agreement talks about, which is a five-year programme”.
Witkoff distanced the Trump team from the deal altogether, saying that it wasn’t “wonderful” from the start.
“We had nothing to do with it”, he said.
‘ It’s gone ‘
Trump’s comments have been criticized by US officials, with White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt claiming that residents of Gaza will be “temporarily relocated.”
Additionally, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the “interim” will be the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, and residents will be able to “move back in” following reconstruction.
However, the president has repeatedly stated this week that his intention is to occupy the Palestinians’ territory and give the US control of it.
Khalil Jahshan, the executive director of the Arab Center Washington DC, said Trump’s proposal spells doom for the ceasefire.
“What we have heard from the White House this week, in my humble judgement, killed the ceasefire agreement totally. It’s gone”, Jahshan told Al Jazeera.
The ceasefire agreement was intended to be a solution for Gaza’s and its citizens’ lives, but it was undermined by it. What’s the point of proceeding if the people of Gaza are going to be moved ethnically from places like Albania or wherever?
Trump has suggested that the conflict may soon resume.
“The strikes could start tomorrow”, Trump said on Tuesday. “There’s not a lot left to strike”.
Since October 2023, Israel’s US-backed offensive in Gaza has killed nearly 62, 000 Palestinians, including thousands of missing people who are presumed dead.
But why did Trump vehemently deny that he intended to uphold a ceasefire?
“Donald Trump isn’t interested in the ceasefire for the wellbeing of Palestinians”, said Khaled Elgindy, a Middle East analyst.
“He’s interested in the headline of the ceasefire. He wants the credit. He wants to say, ‘ I won. I’m the guy who did it. ‘ He doesn’t care whether it’s implemented, disintegrated, or results in ethnic cleansing.
Netanyahu’s war goals
Elgindy claimed that achieving the second stage of the agreement, which would require a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops, will be crucial to halting the ethnic cleansing plan.
“There’s no question that the ceasefire, on its face, is totally incompatible with a plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza”, Elgindy told Al Jazeera.
“This is why I think phase two is so critical. If we can get an agreement on phase two, and phase two is implemented, then I think the risk of actual ethnic cleansing is greatly diminished”.
Elgindy added that Netanyahu and the US president have their own decisions, and that it doesn’t help the ceasefire because Trump “is talking crazy” about the future of Gaza.
When Netanyahu was asked about the White House’s ceasefire this week, he said that he would continue to work toward three objectives: releasing the captives, destroying Hamas’s military and governing capacities, and ensuring that Gaza does not threaten Israel.
After the ceasefire, heavy-armed Hamas fighters spread across Gaza. Additionally, it appears that the group is still in charge of the territory’s civilian administration.
If Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who supports a reprise of the war, leaves the government, Netanyahu’s governing coalition could collapse.
“At this point, Netanyahu already knows whether or not he wants a ceasefire — a phase two — and Donald Trump already knows whether he’s going to go along with Netanyahu’s decision”, Elgindy told Al Jazeera.
For Jahshan, Netanyahu made his intentions known when he reiterated his desire to carry out the war’s goals.
Source: Aljazeera
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