‘Palestine is Not for Sale’

As Trump and Netanyahu were discussing the future of Gaza on February 4, hundreds of protesters outside the White House began to chant: ‘Palestine is not for sale. Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people, not the United States. No, it is no longer a casual statement by Trump that he wants to resettle Palestinians from Gaza Strip to Egypt and Jordan, demolish remaining buildings–69 percent of Gaza structures have already been destroyed as per UN estimates–to make way for Riviera-style development project and place the occupied territory under US ownership. Trump’s approach to the Palestinian issue seems to have surprised his friends and foes alike. But Palestinians are not interested in Riviera; they need a homeland of their own. Forcing people to leave their land and take over their territory is prohibited by long-standing treaties and international law. What Trump is proposing is anything but ethnic cleansing, much to the satisfaction of the Israeli far-right. The very concept of ethnically cleansing Gaza of its 2.2 million people sends shivers down the spines of the strip inhabitants.

For one thing, Gaza Strip is recognised by the United Nations and its highest court, the International Court of Justice, as part of the Palestinian territories under military occupation. The threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state is violative of International Law but international law is for the weak; it is not for Trump’s America. They have the divine right to execute their imperial design by using force. Forced displacement of a population under military occupation is a war crime according to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Then America and Israel don’t bother about the Geneva Mandate; they follow their own rules of coercion.

Palestinians suffered mass dispossession in 1948. Now they fear another round of displacement or what they call Naqba. In truth, most people in Gaza are displaced persons in the first place. These Palestinians became nation-less refugees placed under the care of the UN Relief and Works Agency which is also under attack by Israel. There are eight refugee camps in Gaza to support 200,000 Palestinians who had been forced out of over 190 towns and villages. Then Palestinians have a permanent envoy to the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Israel’s defence minister ordered the army to prepare a plan to allow the “voluntary departure” of residents from Gaza, after Trump’s announcement. In other words, the US-Israel project to depopulate Gaza has begun. The Oslo Accords of the 1990s rejected the notion of removing Palestinians from Gaza. In fact, keeping the refugees in Gaza was central to the premise of a two-state solution. At the same time, questions over the right of refugees to their original homeland in what is now Israel were shelved. Resettlement means total denial of a two-state solution as well.

The road to recovery in Gaza will be long. The UN estimates that rebuilding Gaza will cost US$50 billion and take at least 10 years. But Gazans refuse to abandon their shattered homes despite hardships. “We would rather die here rather than leave the land’’. That is how Palestinians express their sentiment and attachment to the Strip. Resettlement schemes have a long history, yet Palestinians have thwarted them at every turn. There is no reason to think that this time will be any different and Trump’s plan will succeed.

The idea of removing the Palestinians from Gaza is not new–but neither is Palestinians’ resolve to remain in their tiny homeland, otherwise overcrowded. For almost 80 years, Palestinians in Gaza have resisted various proposals to displace them from the enclave. So, militancy is growing not out of nothing— there are real reasons for Palestinians to take up arms. Israel’s medieval barbarism has failed to destroy Palestinians’ determination to keep their identity as a nation. If Hamas is wiped out completely, the possibility of which seems remote, new militant outfits will emerge to save Palestinians’ national identity.  

11.2.2025

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 35, Feb 23 - March 1, 2025