Trump wants to ‘clean out’ Gaza. Here’s what this could mean for the Middle East
CNN
US President Donald Trump’s proposal to “clean out” the Gaza Strip by moving more than a million Palestinians to neighboring countries has drawn sharp criticism, with opponents condemning it as ethnic cleansing and warning of regional chaos.
US President Donald Trump’s proposal to “clean out” the Gaza Strip by moving more than a million Palestinians to neighboring countries has drawn sharp criticism, with opponents condemning it as ethnic cleansing and warning of regional chaos. Trump said on Saturday that he would like Jordan and Egypt to take in Gazans internally displaced by Israel’s devastating war in the enclave. “You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. The potential transfer, he said, “could be temporary” or “could be long-term.” Both countries swiftly rejected the idea. But, if adopted, the proposal would mark a sharp break from the Biden administration’s stance that Gaza should not be depopulated and could signal a shift from a longstanding US position that Gaza should be part of a future Palestinian state. It would also align the Trump administration with Israel’s most radical far-right politicians, who advocate transferring Palestinians out of the territory to make way for Jewish settlement. Trump’s proposal has been embraced by extremist Israeli politicians, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – who has sparked controversy by claiming there is “no such thing as a Palestinian people”– and former Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, who was once convicted for supporting terrorism and inciting anti-Arab racism. Palestinian politicians decried it as a plan to ethnically cleanse Gazans from their land.
