US President Donald Trump announced that the US would take control of the Gaza Strip and relocate Palestinians to other territories.
This statement sparked a wave of criticism, which was compiled in her Telegram channel "Eastern Syndrome" by Israeli orientalist and journalist Ksenia Svetlova.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib called Trump's plan support for genocide and ethnic cleansing. Senator Chris Van Hollen urged Congress to oppose this dangerous plan, while his colleague Chris Murphy described the president's proposal as "reckless." The Council on American-Islamic Relations stated that this is a crime against humanity. The head of Amnesty International in the US Paul O'Brien stated that removing Palestinians from Gaza amounts to their destruction.
The president should support the self-determination of the Palestinian people on their historical land, according to the American Institute for the Study of Arab History.
Earlier, Hamas representative Sami Abu Zuhri warned that Trump's plans would create chaos in the region.
Meanwhile, Jon Alterman from the Center for Strategic and International Studies expressed doubt that many Palestinians would leave even a devastated Gaza.
As Ksenia Svetlova notes, Arab leaders remain silent, not because they support Trump's plan — only on Saturday did they jointly declare that they would not relocate anyone — but because they do not yet understand how to say "no" to Trump without risking tariffs, the cancellation of trade agreements, and much more.
"I think they will propose what they already offered to Biden — to take on the reconstruction of Gaza amid the dismantling of the Hamas regime. Saudi Arabia might add something else, and possibly it will move towards normalizing relations with Israel — attention — in exchange for the 'cancellation of Trump's plan to relocate Palestinians'," Svetlova believes.
Military expert Sergey Auslender explained to The Insider* that many Arab countries will not want to accept Palestinians due to the complex history of their relations with neighboring states, but noted that Trump has leverage over Egypt in the form of military aid amounting to $2.5 billion annually. All American equipment — Abrams tanks, Apache helicopters, F-16 aircraft, ammunition, and much more.
He also noted that the idea of relocating Palestinians has been discussed for a long time, but has not been implemented due to its impracticality. "Specifically regarding the Gaza Strip, the question arises of where to relocate Palestinians, as living conditions there are appalling — up to 90% of housing is destroyed. The simplest option seems to be relocation to Egypt, but Egyptians declare they do not want to accept new residents," says Auslender. Trump may force Egypt to accommodate Palestinians on its territory under the threat of reconsidering military aid.
According to experts, all these actions will significantly change the situation in the region. "The comparison with the fall of the Berlin Wall or the collapse of the Soviet Union is quite appropriate in terms of its epochal nature," says Sergey Auslender.
* Recognized in Russia as a "foreign agent" and "undesirable" organization.