Explainer-Why Trump's proposal on Gaza is ringing alarm bells in the region

3 days ago 49

President Donald Trump's plan for the United States to take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically touches on one the most sensitive issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Trump's plans are likely to heighten fears among Palestinians in Gaza, which had a pre-war population of around 2.3 million, of being driven out of the coastal strip, and stoke concern in Arab states that have long worried about the destabilising impact of any such exodus.

WHAT IS BEHIND THE CONCERNS?

Palestinians have long been haunted by what they call the"Nakba", or catastrophe, when 700,000 of them were dispossessedfrom their homes during the war that surrounded the creation ofIsrael in 1948.

Many were driven out or fled to neighbouring Arab states,including to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, where many of them andtheir descendants still live in refugee camps. Some went toGaza. Israel disputes the account that they were forced out.

The latest conflict, currently paused amid a fragile ceasefire agreement, has seen an unprecedented Israeli bombardment and land offensive in Gaza, devastating urban areas.

Most Gazans have been displaced several times duringIsrael's offensive, launched after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack onIsrael by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 47,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then,according to Palestinian health officials.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Wednesday Trump's remarks about taking over Gaza are 'ridiculous' and 'absurd' and could ignite the region.

HOW HAVE PALESTINIANS MOVED DURING THIS CONFLICT?

Before Israel launched its offensive in 2023, it toldPalestinians in north Gaza to move to what it said were safeareas in the south. As the offensive expanded, Israel told themto head further south towards Rafah, on the border with Egypt.

Later in the war, before launching a campaign in Rafah, itinstructed them to move to a new designated humanitarian zone inAl-Mawasi, an area that stretches 12 km (7 miles) along thecoast, starting from the western areas of Deir Al-Balah incentral Gaza to Khan Younis and Rafah in the south.

According to U.N. estimates, up to 85% of the population ofGaza - one of the world's most densely populated areas - havealready been displaced from their homes.

COULD A MAJOR DISPLACEMENT FROM GAZA HAPPEN?

Many Palestinians in Gaza have said they would not leave theenclave even if they could because they fear it might lead toanother permanent displacemen...

Read Entire Article