Friends, rivals shoot down Trump’s Gaza plan

US President Donald Trump’s proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and develop it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, which he had announced at the joint press conference with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington evoked universal rejection from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Indonesia, Russia, China, Spain, France, Germany and the United Nations Human Rights office.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry statement post-Trump press conference said, “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also stresses its previously announced categorical rejection of any violation of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies annexation of Palestinian territories, or attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land.” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said that the reconstruction of Gaza should begin without displacing the Palestinians from the territory. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said, “I want to be very clear on this: Gaza is the land of the Gazan Palestinians and they must stay in Gaza. Gaza is part of the future Palestinian state Spain supports and has to coexist guaranteeing the Israeli state’s prosperity and safety.”

France said that the future of Gaza must involve “control by a third state”. The French foreign ministry said in its statement that it “will continue to campaign for the implementation of the two-state solution, the only one that can guarantee long-term peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.” British Foreign Minister David Lammy said, “We’ve always been clear in our belief that we must see two states. We must see Palestinians live and prosper in their homelands in Gaza and the West Bank.” Russia said that the settlement in the Middle East is only possible on the basis of two-state solution. It said that this was the principle enshrined in the United Nations Security Council Resolution. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin JIan said, “China has always believed that Palestinians governing Palestine is the basic principle of post-conflict governance.” He added that China believes in the two-state solution. The UN Human Rights Office in its statement said, “It is crucial that we move towards the next phase of the ceasefire, to release all hostages and arbitrarily detained prisoners, end the war and reconstruct Gaza, with full respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territories is strictly prohibited.”

International condemnation has rarely prevented the United States from taking unilateral positions. But experts believe that Trump is wont to take extreme positions, which he will not stick with for long. It is conceded that Trump’s plan for Gaza is provocative but it will not be taken to its logical end. The proposal has no doubt upped the ante as it were all over the world, and it will not be easy for the United States to push the idea forward. Nor are the Americans likely to accept sending American troops to Gaza to oversee the American contractors turning it into a real estate enterprise. This will, however, strengthen the Israeli hard-right which looks upon partnership with America as the guarantor of the Israeli state, but Israeli popular opinion is also likely to reject the plan. There has been widespread criticism of Netanyahu government over the Gaza offensive and the safety of the hostages. The American diplomatic cadre has to work doubly hard to convince friends and allies that the United States does not intend to take over territory in other parts of the world, whether it is Greenland or Gaza. Washington cannot afford to alienate its European allies nor its friends in the Middle East. The Trump trumpet is causing counter-blasts from the world capitals.