President Donald Trump announced his plan for Gaza following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire on Feb. 4, proposing that the United States seize control over the entirety of the land and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The president’s proposal, which included the removal of the two million Palestinians currently living on the Gaza Strip to countries like Egypt and Jordan, faced scrutiny from the United Nations. Navi Pillay, head of U.N. Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, warned that any forced displacement of civilians in occupied territory is strictly illegal under international law and “tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
As U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio kicked off his tour of the Middle East on Feb.16, he discussed plans for Gaza with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Hamas cannot continue to stand as a military or government force,” said Rubio in a press statement. “As long as it stands as a force that can govern or administer or a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible.”
As the first phase of the ceasefire comes to an end, fears have risen on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides about the potential collapse of the ceasefire agreement. This was caused in part by a hostage exchange that nearly fell through but ultimately occurred on Feb.15. In addition, Hamas said in a press statement through its Interior Ministry that an Israeli air strike had killed three police officers who were securing the entry of aid trucks near the Rafah region of the Gaza strip on the same day, which the group described as a “serious violation” of the ceasefire.
A statement from the Israeli military said that the airstrike was carried out on people who were approaching forces in Southern Gaza. A day prior, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said on press time that the United States had provided delivery of MK-84 bombs, the export of which was declined by the previous Biden administration out of concern of their impact on Gaza. The 2,000-pound bombs are designed to have a wide radius and can burn through both metal and concrete, making them effective in collapsing buildings, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
Richland student Leanne Hagazi spoke about Trump’s plans for the region, referencing his policies for immigrants in the United States. Richland student Leanne Hagazi spoke about Trump’s plans for Gaza, saying that his plan for sending immigrants in the U.S. back home is contradictory to his foreign policy.
“I believe that Trump’s plan of having immigrants go back to their country from the U.S. contradicts what he has planned, because you’re creating more immigrants all around the world,” said Hagazi. “It’s hypocritical that he doesn’t want immigrants in the United States, but he wants other countries to open their borders for Palestinians to live in,” she added.
Hagazi, a native Egyptian, also deliberated on how she would feel if she was forced to be displaced from her homeland.
“I believe that culture is instilled in a person. No matter what happens to the land, you’re still going to have the culture inside of you.… Instead of solving the issue completely, they’re now destabilizing the government, the people, and everything else just to take the land. So, I feel like it’s more conquering than just solving.”
Discussions of the second phase of the ceasefire have begun within both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority, and a meeting to discuss further implementation of the first phase between Israel and Hamas is set to take place later this month in Cairo, Egypt.
