US President Donald Trump’s recent comment to “clean out” Gaza and relocate its population to Egypt and Jordan has ignited widespread discussion on the future of the region
Palestinians have roundly condemned Trump’s proposal, which has raised concerns of ethnic cleansing.
Jordan is already home to several million Palestinians, while tens of thousands live in Egypt. Both countries and other Arab nations reject the idea of Palestinians in Gaza being moved to their countries.
In an interview with the Vaultz news, Kwaku Nuamah, a Senior Professorial Lecturer at American University, expressed skepticism over the practicality of such a proposal, pointing out the significant challenges that would prevent its implementation.
He opined that moving Palestinians out of Gaza is not a realistic goal.
He remarked that Trump made an “interesting comment,” noting that from a charitable angle, Trump’s comment suggests that he’s thinking about what should happen in Palestine “and that’s a good thing.”
However, he added that the substance of the comment suggest that Trump is probably getting advice from some of the groups either in Israel or in the United States who favor permanently annexing Gaza to Israel.
Nuamah was careful not to read too much into Trump’s statement, suggesting that it lacked the substance of an official proposal. “I don’t know if it’s a proposal because this is an offhanded, comment that he made whilst he was traveling,” he said.
He emphasized that a proposal would have to come with details and has to come out of a consultative process. “This is something that he just put out there. It may just be off the cuff comments,” Nuamah explained.
“But if this were a proposal, it would suggest two things. That either he thinks that temporarily moving people from Gaza into either Jordan or Egypt can help with the post conflict reconstruction process, which may be true because, it’s harder to reconstruct space that has internally displaced people living in the rubble. So, of course, the reconstruction will be faster if the people are not there.
“But it could also mean that he is listening to, people who want to permanently displace the people of Gaza, which is, the people on the Israeli right and the settler movement.”
Kwaku Nuamah
“And this is why it’s not going to work,” he averred, pointing out that the Arab states are likely to resist strongly.
He stated that the Arab countries are very sensitive to that notion, that once you let the internally displaced persons in Gaza cross the borders of Egypt or Jordan and become refugees, “then you are permanently relocating them, that is the Israelis will not let them back into Gaza and that is going to be a problem.”
Also, Nuamah asserted that there is the issue of what it means for Jordan and Egypt, stressing that both nations are already dealing with significant challenges. Jordan, he said, is already home to a lot of Palestinian refugees while Egypt is under a lot of economic stress. “I don’t think that they want to absorb new people in there so it’s a nonstarter,” he said.
“But as I said, if this were a serious proposal, it will only be the opening bid. As we’ve seen with Donald Trump, he likes to put things out there and then, people come up and then negotiate. And so it could simply be the opening bid in a long and lengthy negotiation that we would have to follow.”
Kwaku Nuamah
However, he made it clear that any meaningful solution to Gaza’s future must be grounded in reality. “I don’t think that the people are going anywhere, and that is the reason why you need a solution to this problem,” he voiced.
“I don’t think that moving the people out of Gaza is a realistic goal. It means that reconstruction has to take place whiles the people are there. I think that this was not serious but if he meant that in a serious way, it’s an opening bid in a strategy to get those two countries [Jordan and Egypt] to lend political support to whatever plan he comes up with in future.”
Kwaku Nuamah
A Signal To Arab States
Moreover, Nuamah noted that Trump’s remark was meant to send a signal. “He is sending a signal to the Arab states that they are going to have to come to the table to help build Gaza,” he stated.
“So even if they’re not going take people in, they’re going to have to come to the table. Egypt doesn’t have money and Jordan probably doesn’t have money. But the money is going to come from the Gulf Arabs, but He’s [Trump] is going to need the political support of Egypt and Jordan.”
Kwaku Nuamah
Asked about a scenario where Trump’s idea is to be implemented, Nuamah replied that in such a case, temporary IDP camps could be set up across the border as Gaza is reconstructed.
However, he emphasized that “that’s not going to work because these countries are very weak.”
“The reason why he’s talking to Egypt and Jordan is because these are essentially American puppet client states. And so, you have leaders in these countries who are supported by the United States government, but he has to be very careful because those countries are overwhelmingly supportive of Palestinian rights.
“You could easily end up with another Arab spring, if the Palestinians are seen as being sacrificed just to please Israeli right wingers and Christian eschatologists in America. That’s a dangerous situation for the entire region.”
Kwaku Nuamah
Ultimately, Nuamah’s opinion challenges simplistic proposals and calls for a more comprehensive approach to resolving the Gaza conflict.
The path to peace, he argues, lies in finding a solution that respects the rights and aspirations of Gaza’s population while addressing the complex regional and international dynamics that continue to shape the Middle East.
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