In his first meeting with a foreign leader after returning to power as President of the United States, Mr Donald Trump has left the diplomatic world in a bit of a shock. His suggestion for a permanent solution to the Israel-Hamas crisis is the relocation of the displaced and wounded Palestinian population of Gaza to the neighbouring states of Egypt and Jordan while the devastated strip is reconstructed into a new ‘Riviera of the Middle East’. The naïvely idyllic picture of a new Gaza which Trump painted to visiting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of Israel in Washington, DC, does not alleviate the historical injustice of the suggestion that also poses danger to world peace.
Admittedly, months of Israeli bombardment has left the Gaza strip almost completely destroyed and demolished. Residential and public buildings have nearly all been laid waste. Schools, hospitals and commercial precincts have been similarly devastated. The little infrastructure available in the city–roads, water supplies and power systems have been knocked out and left in ruins as well. Nearly everything that should support the normal living of the population of over two million has been overturned and destroyed. Given the long standing and historical strategic partnership between the United States and Israel, the views of Trump on the way forward for Gaza and the Palestinian question carry significant weight.
As the operating base of the resistance movement Hamas, Gaza was a highly militarised strip of Palestinian territory. It has a complex network of underground tunnels through which Hamas ferried weapons and ammunition over the years. These tunnels housed training facilities, armouries and logistical coordination centres for Hamas commanders and foot soldiers. This uncanny ingenuity of Hamas also made civilian infrastructure ready military targets during the Israeli reprisal invasion. But even then, the nature of Gaza heightened the casualty to an unprecedented number that is nearly genocidal in proportion, and for which the Israeli leadership has many questions pending at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Considering the current pause in military operations, diplomatic efforts ought to lead from ceasefire to a permanent halt to hostilities, followed by the reconstruction of Gaza. Therefore, Trump’s suggestion for a permanent relocation of the population of Gaza is not only disingenuous and insensitive, but it also ignores the historical origin of the Palestinian struggle which is at the heart of the Middle East crisis. Palestinian land and its forceful occupation by Israel with American connivance is at the heart of the perennial crisis in the region. Any solution that faintly suggests a further dispossession of the Palestinians of any stretch of their homeland can only be seen as an extension of the occupation principle by other means. This is why it has been condemned globally and vehemently rejected first by countries like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar. Major nations in other regions have similarly joined in this condemnation and rejection.
What is at stake in Gaza and the rest of the occupied territories of Palestine is not real estate value enhancement and landscape decoration. The phantom reconstruction and redecoration of Gaza is not nearly the issue. The inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to a place they can proudly call home are the real issues at stake. Unfortunately, the attachment of people to their homeland cannot nearly be understood by those obsessed with real estate and land valuation.
Yes, Gaza should be reconstructed from the damage of an unnecessary conflict. That reconstruction should include the restoration of basic essential services to support normal living. It should also include a demilitarisation of the infrastructure through the removal of tunnels for armed trouble making. A peaceful Gaza in an independent Palestinian state has no need for tunnels. This reconstruction can be planned in phases to accommodate the returning population while the rebuilding proceeds. But on no account must the reconstruction and restoration of Gaza or any of the other occupied territories entail the relocation or dislocation of the Palestinian population. The injuries in the hearts and minds of the Palestinian people are deep and must not be further deepened.
The opportunity offered by the present pause in hostilities is one to seek permanent peace and a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian problem. That should be the preoccupation of all critical stakeholders in the region, including President Trump!
END
Be the first to comment