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Israel

Trump proposes resettlement for Gazans in first flurry

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In his first week back in the White House, President Donald Trump lost no time shaking up United States (US) policies on the Middle East. Most agree that it was Trump’s pressure that finally secured the brittle ceasefire in Gaza under which by the end of last weekend, seven Israeli hostages had been released along with about 290 Palestinians from Israeli jails. More controversially, Trump has mooted the transfer of millions of Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, given the decimation of Gaza. This is music to the ears of the Israeli right-wing and anathema to Israel’s many foes. Israel was also affected by the deluge of executive orders he signed on day one.

Trump told journalists on Air Force One that he had spoken to Jordan’s King Abdullah II about the transfer of Palestinians to that country, and was planning to discuss the issue with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as well. He said, “I said to him that I’d love you to take on more [Palestinians], because I’m looking at the Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, a real mess. You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over.’” Trump said Gaza was “literally a demolition site”, and he would rather people lived safely “in a different location”, that is, in Egypt and Jordan.

It’s doubtful this would fly with either country or the international community, which staunchly oppose any population transfer. But Israeli right-wingers are buoyed at this prospect. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “After 76 years during which the majority of Gaza’s population has been forcibly kept in harsh conditions to preserve the aspirations of destroying the state of Israel, the idea of helping them find other places to start new, better lives is an excellent idea. Only out-of-the box thinking and new solutions will bring about peace and security.”

On X, former Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir commended Trump’s suggestion of “voluntary emigration”, and said Israel should implement this policy.

Moving back to Trump’s first-day actions, in one executive order that will send shockwaves around the world, he declared a 90-day freeze on and review of American foreign aid. This would include payments to the highly anti-Israel United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), with several of its workers linked to Hamas. Aid to Israel and Egypt are exempted from the freeze.

Trump revoked Executive Order 14115, issued in February 2024 by former President Joe Biden, which imposed sanctions on settlement residents accused of perpetrating violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Another executive order reinstated sanctions on the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Trump’s measures also sought to block US entry visas to individuals who support foreign terror organisations.

Former US diplomat and writer, Brooks Spector, said, “The Trump administration has got off to a fast start, trying to reorient and reshape his nation’s foreign policies. But it’s not necessarily true that fast is the same as useful or effective. Now on the job for the second time, he is encountering the complexities of foreign policy and the ways domestic and foreign issues can intertwine.”

Not able to fulfil his boast that he could end the Ukraine conflict in a day, “Any American influence and capabilities in bringing the warring parties to a negotiated settlement may actually be pretty close to rocket science,” Spector said. Imposing tariffs on foes and friends will similarly prove tougher than a campaign promise.

Spector said, “In the entanglements of the Middle East, the new administration is hoping that, somehow, the ceasefire for Gaza can be expanded, ultimately, to encompass a broader and more all-encompassing security architecture for the region. The current limited ceasefire had been achieved in the final days of the Biden administration with the participation of a representative of the then president-elect. But moving from this to a much larger regional version of the Abraham Accords, so far, remains out of reach. Nevertheless, the Trump administration now owns the peace process and any momentum – or lack of it – and will be judged on such progress.”

Israeli journalist Rolene Marks said, “President Trump has hit the ground running, especially with regards to the Middle East, by ensuring that the terms of the ceasefire are abided by. Quite controversially, he has approached both Jordan and Egypt to absorb about a million and a half to two million Gazans, saying that Gaza is basically levelled and it will take time to reconstruct. From Israel’s perspective, the Trump administration is certainly working to support our country.”

Marks noted that the lifting of US sanctions on the delivery of some powerful weapons for Israel “is a positive development, as is the positioning of the US national security adviser and defense secretary firmly behind Israel”. Marks also welcomed the appointment of Elise Stefanik as the US’s United Nations ambassador, who made her name in opposing antisemitism at Ivy League universities. “She’s expected to deliver a firm message that the anti-Israel sentiment at the United Nations certainly won’t be tolerated by the new Trump administration,” Marks said. “So, while Trump remains a polarising figure, certainly as far as foreign policy towards Israel is concerned, it looks largely favourable.”

Whether what’s good for the right-wing Netanyahu government is necessarily good for Israel will be tested in the coming months.

  • Steven Gruzd is a political analyst in Johannesburg. He writes in his personal capacity.
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