US president Donald Trump wants to turn the bloodied beaches of Gaza into a luxury playground for the world’s rich. As a proud Palestinian, I was shocked when I heard this report; surely a very bad, tasteless joke? But, alarmingly, it turned out to be the words of the president of one of the most powerful countries worldwide.
As if the people of Gaza have not suffered enough death, destruction and devastation over the last 15 months — and before that 17 years of illegal blockade transforming Gaza into an air, ground and sea prison — Trump has added to their suffering with his crazy, inhumane plan to turf more than two million exhausted, traumatised and war-weary people from their homeland and turn it into a holiday mecca for sun worshippers, or the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Following two weeks of chaotic executive orders by President Trump, his chilling words, perhaps the most bizarre intervention yet in the long and tortuous history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, should probably come as no surprise.
The coastline and crystal sea waters of Gaza are indeed beautiful. But its shores are now graves, stained with innocent blood. What Trump proposes is ethnic cleansing, a violation of international law, and an aggression against the Palestinian people. His preposterous plan would threaten instability, increase violence, and an excuse to set fire again in the region.
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Palestinians have the right to stay in our land and no one has the right, power or authority to throw us out. As an international power, the US should be working for peace. The Trump administration’s efforts should be focused on Gaza reconstruction, rebuilding the 80 per cent of homes that have been flattened by Israeli bombs and getting humanitarian aid in urgently to the starving population.
The people of the world can prove their support, humanity and justice and show that these crazy Trump plans will not be achieved. We need the world to work now for international law and justice and not allow an arrogant world leader to countenance making a quick buck on the back of so much misery.
This is different, but a similar sentiment to a plan by Trump ally Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who in October 2023 reportedly lobbied European counterparts to pressure Egypt into accepting Palestinians displaced from Gaza.
Forcible transfer and deportation are serious violations of international law and atrocity crimes. Third states have a legal obligation to stop existing transfers and prevent such acts from taking place in future, especially in light of the finding by the International Court of Justice in January 2024 that it is plausible that Israel’s acts in Gaza could amount to genocide.
The race against time to save lives in Gaza
Following the attacks of October 7th, 2023, by Palestinian armed groups, in which according to Israel some 1,200 Israeli and foreign nationals were killed and 250 taken captive, Israel’s all-out military campaign and siege on Gaza has created a wave of forced displacement that dwarfs all previous incidences.
While the magnitude of the violence and displacement against Gaza since October 8th 2023 was unprecedented in the Palestinian context, it was the latest chapter in a long history of mass forced displacement, expulsion and refugeehood that have overshadowed Palestinian existence since the start of the British Mandate (1922-1947). Since the creation of the state of Israel, successive Israeli governments have overseen a continuous cycle of dispossession of Palestinians.
During the Nakba, which took place immediately before and after the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, an estimated 750,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes. Through a range of policies and practices, particularly those enacted following its seizure of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip in 1967, Israel has pursued the forced removal of Palestinians from areas under its control.
This experience left indelible scars on the collective Palestinian memory. Many sought refuge in neighbouring countries or further afield. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, nearly six million Palestinians are today registered as refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. The right of refugees to return to the territory from which they were displaced is enshrined in numerous instruments and provisions of international law.
Palestinian collective identity is inextricably linked with, and shaped by, the legacy of mass forced displacement and refugeehood spanning decades. This historical context has cultivated a deep-rooted Palestinian connection to the land, with Palestinians inside Gaza describing the prospect of permanent exile as a fate worse than bombs.
It has defined my life: this occupation, fear of dispossession and longing for peace and for a Palestine free and equal with other nations.
As an international power, words matter. The US is deeply complicit, this is another part of that journey. Silence on claims of serious violations of international law has created an environment in which Israel acts with increasing impunity. Nations bear legal and moral obligations to protect civilians, prevent atrocity crimes and uphold international law.
Peace, justice and stability in the Middle East cannot be achieved by ignoring and violating Palestinian rights. Failing to act condemns future generations of Palestinians to ongoing dispossession and exile, eroding hopes for a just and viable solution rooted in international law.
Gaza’s once glorious coastline should indeed be reclaimed — not as an opulent escape for the world’s elite, but for its people who have suffered so much.
Riham Jafari is the ActionAid Palestine advocacy and communications co-ordinator. She has lived in Palestine her entire life.
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