Trump’s Comments on Gaza Threaten the International Order
Yasmin Obeidallah
Associate Editor
On February 26, United States President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video of the Gaza Strip depicting victims of war digging through rubble until the landscape changes to a dystopian scenery that displays “Trump’s Gaza,” a grotesque image of beachside condos and skyscrapers, reflecting his neocolonialist vision for the region. Trump’s plans for the “Riveria of the Middle East” echoes a heartbreaking era of Palestinian history and fundamentally threatens the international order.
This comes after Trump’s statements on post-war Gaza, insisting that the U.S. would have “ownership” of the region. Trump’s proposal would include the forced removal of Palestinians from the region, suggesting that Palestinians would have no right to return to the territory, according to PBS News. This, by all definitions of the term, constitutes ethnic cleansing, which is prohibited by international law. The U.S. and Israel have entered into talks with countries in East Africa to remove Palestinians from their sovereign land to East African territories. These countries have rejected this call, according to The Associated Press. Although members of his administration have since walked back the statements about the U.S. ownership of Gaza, Trump’s naive intentions to own any piece of land in the Middle East reflects his ignorant ideas on Palestinians. World leaders have rejected this distortion of justice, with Egypt and Jordan refusing to serve as hosts for this relocation, reports The Voice of America.
Trump’s comments on Gaza threaten one of the contingencies of the entire international order: sovereignty. The truth remains that no matter which leaders discuss the “day after tomorrow” for Gaza, no one could convince Palestinians to willingly leave Gaza, the West Bank, or move a meter from their ancestral lands. Simply put, Palestinians belong in Palestine. This proposal would threaten any stability in the region and defy the values that Western states value most. The emotional and physical connections Palestinians have to their land are no match for Trump’s imperialist ideals and ill-backed proposal.
Trump’s stance on Gaza has affected domestic politics as well. On March 8, Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and a legal U.S. resident, was arrested by the Department of Homeland Security for his involvement in protesting Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip during his university encampment, reports Al Jazeera. The Trump administration seeks to deport Khalil for his role in “anti-American activity,” though no evidence has been offered to support those claims. Trump said that Khalil’s arrest would be “one of many,” raising concerns for individual freedoms under the new administration. Protesting is not an arrestable offense, even if it makes some uncomfortable, and free speech should not hinge on one’s personal beliefs. This egregious violation of fundamental American liberties surmounts Khalil’s politics and stance on global issues and points to a march toward authoritarianism under the Trump administration.
The horrors of the latest violence in Gaza have shaken the international community once again. During the early hours of March 19, Israel, with the United States’ full backing, resumed airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, shattering the ceasefire agreement and continuing their genocidal assault against Palestinians. According to NBC News, Israel consulted the Trump administration before launching the latest round of airstrikes, signaling Trump’s staunch support for these brutal actions. Israel remains the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid, receiving nearly $4 billion a year, reports the Council on Foreign Relations.
Image courtesy of Getty Images.
