WASHINGTON – Just 24 hours ago, the idea of pressuring Gazans to leave the Gaza Strip was a concept associated with the Israeli far-right, but now it’s the official plan of the President of the United States. “All of them” were the three words that caused jaws to drop inside the Oval Office at the beginning of the meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. The three words were a response to my question about how many Gazans the president thinks need to leave the Gaza Strip.
What started as a joke two weeks ago, became an idea a week ago, and is now officially US administration policy. “We’ll own the Gaza Strip,” Trump told reporters during the press conference. “We will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too.” Trump even hinted that he is willing to send boots on the ground. “Egypt and Jordan won’t say no,” he told the Jerusalem Post. “I think there’s a good chance it will happen.”
The stubbornness of the US president on this plan makes it harder for it to disappear one day. In contrast to his decision on tariffs against Canada and Mexico, which are now frozen, Trump has set a very high bar with this statement. It can’t just go away one day, especially if you consider that rebuilding Gaza will take 10-15 years. This fact won’t change. Trump, jokes the web, wants to turn Gaza into MAGA.
Netanyahu’s response
Netanyahu’s statement on the issue was “Trump has an unconventional way of thinking; he thinks outside the box,” he said yesterday, but he didn’t go as far as fully embracing it. Yes, it seems Netanyahu enjoyed every moment of Trump’s statement, but deep down, he and other Israeli officials fears that Trump’s plan might cause turbulence among Israel’s neighbors.
The laws of physics can’t be bent, and when Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states say they will oppose the plan, the question is: does Trump have “all hell” ready to force them to accept it? Does he have alarm B to convince them too? For the answer to this question, we won’t have to wait long. Next week, King Abdullah of Jordan will arrive at the White House. What Trump says standing next to him will give us an indication of what the 47th president’s plans are for the strip and its residents.
Jesus Christ is King
