Trump’s Gaza Plan and the Reaction of the Arab World
Dr. Devender Kumar
US President Donald Trump proposed a Gaza Plan to “own and take over” the Palestinian territory (Gaza) amidst the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. This plan leads to an ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and violates international law. Since Hamas's victory in the 2005 elections following the second Intifada (Uprising) both sides have fought with each other i.e. 2005-07, 2008-09, 2012, 2014, 2021, 2023-25, and recently had agreed on the hostages for prisoners formula. Hamas released ‘3 hostages’ in return for ‘369 Palestinian’ prisoners in Israel.
Prime Minister of Israel (Benjamin Netanyahu) has welcomed this plan and showed commitment to fulfill Trump's wish to ‘relocate Gazans to other countries’ i.e. Egypt and Jordan. Netanyahu has gained from Trump's political moves during Trump 1.0— the US withdrawal from the ‘nuclear deal with Iran’ (2018), ‘shifting the US embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem’ (2019), ascent to Israel’s sovereignty over Golan Heights in Syria (2019) and Abraham Accords (2020) with UAE and Bahrain. All these initiatives favored Israel more than the Arabs. Unlike Trump 1.0, the 2.0 presidency is less likely to generate the same political victories for Netanyahu.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his recent visit to Israel reiterated Trump’s commitment to the ‘displacement’ of Palestinians from Gaza and taking ‘ownership’ of the land. Nevertheless, the second round of ceasefire is yet to be negotiated for the release of another batch of hostages from Hamas. Therefore, Arab countries must rethink their policy on Palestine and Israel, as it threatens the sustenance of the ceasefire agreement and also pushes Arab countries to reconsider their cooperation with Israel and Trump 2.0 on the Palestine issue.
There are five reasons why the Gaza plan will affect the Arab countries and their position on Palestine.
First, Netanyahu is showcasing Trump’s plan as a ‘choice’ for Palestinians to ‘leave’ Gaza, as it was known as an ‘open prison’ but UAE, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have rejected this plan. With the backing from the US, Netanyahu is denying the governing authority of Palestinians over Gaza and working to make the US-proposed Gaza plan a reality. Meanwhile, the 2.1 million Gazans have rejected this plan and “President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine” has said that he “will not allow the rights of Palestinians to be infringed on”. Many Palestinians don’t want to “relive” 1948 as this would be a second al-Naqba (catastrophe).
Second, this plan has created panic among the Arab states especially Saudi Arabia which does not want to normalize ties with Israel (under the Abraham Accords) until the Palestinian issue is resolved with Israel going back to the pre-1967 borders. The Kingdom also rejected Trump's Gaza plan and wants to establish a “Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as the capital” while Israel wants Saudi Arabia to “establish a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia”. Riyadh has “condemned” Israel for the suggestion and called for a meeting of Arab states with UAE, Jordan, Egypt, and Qatar to resolve this issue.
Third, Egypt has created a separate plan to “rebuild Gaza” to provide an option against the US plan ‘without displacing’ the Palestinians. Both Egypt and Jordan controlled the Palestinian territory from 1948 to 1967 -one controlled the Gaza Strip and the other West Bank. Trump has suggested establishing a Palestinian state in these countries to accommodate the Palestinians. The Egyptian foreign ministry has rejected this plan and proposed a “multi-phase plan” for the reconstruction of Gaza with prospects for economic boost, aid, and quick recovery.
Fourth, Jordan is house to a large number of Palestinian refugees in the world and is the 4th largest recipient of aid from the US. Therefore in the beginning Jordan shied from openly criticizing the Gaza plan but recently warned the US that this plan may ignite “Islamic extremism” against the US.
Fifth, the Arab countries are under pressure due to their enhanced cooperation with Israel and the US. UAE and Bahrain have already normalized ties with Israel but there is a sizable domestic support for the Palestinians within these countries. Therefore, the Arab states are reconsidering their position vis-a-vis Trump's Gaza Plan and relations with Israel.
However, the recent US policy initiatives on Gaza have created a policy dilemma for Arabs against the US-proposed plan to resolve the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Now the Arab Summit is to decide on the future of the Palestinian state with subsequent arrangements for reconstruction.
Despite achieving the Abraham Accords with the Arab states, the Gaza plan has made the ties between Arabs and Israel go back to the pre-1967 understandings. But Trump and Netanyahu's denial of Palestinian authority may push these states to break ties with Israel until the situation in Gaza is restored.
Dr. Devender Kumar is Assistant Professor at the Center of Excellence for Geopolitics and International Studies (CEGIS), REVA University.
