New backlash over Trump plan to move people out of Gaza

by Michael BLUM

An idea floated by U.S. President Donald Trump to move Gazans to Egypt or Jordan faced a renewed backlash Tuesday as hundreds of thousands of Gazans displaced by the Israel-Hamas war returned to their devastated neighborhoods.

A fragile ceasefire and hostage release deal took effect earlier this month, intended to end more than 15 months of war that began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

After the ceasefire came into force, Trump touted a plan to "clean out" the Gaza Strip, reiterating the idea on Monday as he called for Palestinians to move to "safer" locations such as Egypt or Jordan.

The U.S. president, who has repeatedly claimed credit for sealing the truce deal after months of fruitless negotiations, also said he would meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington "very soon".

Jordan, which has a tumultuous history with Palestinian movements, on Tuesday renewed its rejection of Trump's proposal.

"We emphasize that Jordan's national security dictates that the Palestinians must remain on their land and that the Palestinian people must not be subjected to any kind of forced displacement whatsoever," Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad Momani said.

Qatar, which played a leading role in the truce mediation, on Tuesday said that it often did not see "eye to eye" with its allies, including the United States.

"Our position has always been clear to the necessity of the Palestinian people receiving their rights, and that the two-state solution is the only path forward," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said.

Following reports that Trump had spoken with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the weekend, Cairo said there had been no such phone call.

"A senior official source denied what some media outlets reported about a phone call between the Egyptian and American presidents," Egypt's state information service said.

On Monday, Trump reportedly said the pair had spoken, saying of Sisi: "I wish he would take some (Palestinians)."

After Trump first floated the idea, Egypt rejected the forced displacement of Gazans, expressing its "continued support for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land".

- 'No matter what' -

France, another US ally, on Tuesday said any forced displacement of Gazans would be "unacceptable".

It would also be a "destabilisation factor (for) our close allies Egypt and Jordan", a French foreign ministry spokesman said.

Moving Gaza's 2.4 million people could be done "temporarily or could be long term", Trump said on Saturday.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he was working with the prime minister "to prepare an operational plan to ensure that President Trump's vision is realized".

Smotrich, who opposed the ceasefire deal, did not provide any details on the purported plan.

For Palestinians, any attempts to force them from Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the "Nakba", or catastrophe -- the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's creation in 1948.

"We say to Trump and the whole world: we will not leave Palestine or Gaza, no matter what happens," said displaced Gazan Rashad al-Naji.

Almost all of the Gaza Strip's inhabitants were displaced at least once by the war that has levelled much of the Palestinian territory.

The ceasefire hinges on the release during a first phase of 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

On Monday, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said eight of the hostages due for release in the first phase are dead.

Since the truce began on January 19, seven Israeli women have been freed, as have about 290 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

On Monday, after Hamas and Israel agreed over the release of six hostages this week, "more than 300,000 displaced" Gazans were able to return to the north, according to the Hamas government media office.

"I'm happy to be back at my home," said Saif Al-Din Qazaat, who returned to northern Gaza but had to sleep in a tent next to the ruins of his destroyed house.

"I kept a fire burning all night near the kids to keep them warm... (they) slept peacefully despite the cold, but we don't have enough blankets," the 41-year-old told AFP.

- Under the rubble -

Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

During the attack, militants took into Gaza 251 hostages. Eighty-seven remain in the territory, including dozens Israel says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 47,317 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

"In terms of the death toll, yes, we do have confidence. But let's not forget, the official death toll given by the Ministry of Health, is deaths accounted in morgues and in hospitals, so in official facilities," World Health Organization spokesman Christian Lindmeier said Tuesday.

"As people go back to their houses, as they will start looking for their loved ones under the rubble, this casualty figure is expected to increase," he added.

© Agence France-Presse