A
question arises, how and under what authority the US can take over and occupy
Gaza, a coastal strip 25 miles (45 km) long and at most 6 miles (10 km) wide,
with a violent history. Successive US administrations, including Trump in his
first term, had avoided deploying US troops there.
Trump unveiled his surprise plan, without providing
specifics, at a joint press conference on Tuesday with visiting Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The announcement followed Trump's proposal earlier on
Tuesday for the permanent resettlement of the more than two million
Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries, calling the enclave - where
the first phase of a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal is
in effect - a "demolition site."
Trump can expect allies and foes alike to strongly oppose
any US takeover of Gaza, and his proposal raises questions whether Saudi Arabia
would be willing to join a renewed US-brokered push for a historic normalization
of relations with US ally Israel.
The US taking a direct stake in Gaza would run counter to
longtime policy in Washington and for much of the international community,
which has held that Gaza would be part of a future Palestinian state that
includes the occupied West Bank.
"The
US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too," Trump
told reporters. "We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of
the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site."
"We're
going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it'll be
something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of," Trump said.
"I do see a long-term ownership position and I see it bringing great
stability to that part of the Middle East."
Asked who would live there, Trump said it could become a
home to "the world's people." Trump touted the narrow strip, where
Israel's military assault in response to Hamas' October 07, 2023, cross-border
attack has leveled large swaths, as having the potential to be “The Riviera of
the Middle East.”
A question arises, how and under what authority the US can
take over and occupy Gaza, a coastal strip 25 miles (45 km) long and at most 6
miles (10 km) wide, with a violent history. Successive US administrations,
including Trump in his first term, had avoided deploying US troops there.
Several Democratic lawmakers quickly condemned the
Republican president's Gaza proposals.
Netanyahu, referred to a few times by Trump by his nickname,
“Bibi,” would not be drawn into discussing the proposal in depth other than to
praise Trump for trying a new approach.
The Israeli leader, whose military had engaged in more than
a year of fierce fighting with Hamas militants in Gaza, said Trump was
"thinking outside the box with fresh ideas" and was "showing
willingness to puncture conventional thinking."
Netanyahu may have been relieved that Trump, who forged
close ties with the Israeli leader during his first term in the White House,
did not pressure him publicly to maintain the ceasefire. He faces threats from
far-right members of his coalition to topple his government unless he restarts
the fighting in Gaza to destroy Iran-backed Hamas.
Some experts have suggested Trump sometimes takes an extreme
position internationally to set the parameters for future negotiations. In his
first term, Trump at times issued what were seen as over-the-top foreign policy
pronouncements, many of which he never implemented.
A UN damage assessment released in January showed
that clearing over 50 million tons of rubble left in Gaza in the aftermath of
Israel's bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to US$1.2 billion.
No comments:
Post a Comment