DONALD Trump has doubled-down on his calls for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza – as Israel begins making preparations for it to happen.
The US president’s staff had tried to walk back comments he made at a press conference alongside Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu after it sparked international concern.
Trump had said that Gaza’s people should be resettled elsewhere and the US would “take over” the region.
On Thursday, he doubled down.
"The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social.
“The Palestinians, people like [US senate minority leader] Chuck Schumer, would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region.
"They would actually have a chance to be happy, safe, and free.
“The US, working with great development teams from all over the world, would slowly and carefully begin the construction of what would become one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on earth. No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!"
After Trump reiterated his position in favour of the war crime of forced displacement, Israel said it had begun preparations for the departure of large numbers of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in line with his plan.
Officials meanwhile said Egypt has launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes to try and head off the plan.
US officials have provided few details about how or when the ethnic cleansing would be carried out.
The Palestinians have vehemently rejected Trump’s proposal, fearing Israel will never allow the refugees to return and that it would destabilise the region.
Egypt has warned that such a plan could undermine its peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of stability and American influence in the Middle East for decades.
Saudi Arabia, another key US ally, has also rejected any mass transfer of Palestinians and says it will not normalise relations with Israel – a key goal of the Trump administration – without the creation of a Palestinian state that includes Gaza.
Trump and Israeli officials have depicted the proposed relocation from war-ravaged Gaza as voluntary, but the Palestinians have universally expressed their determination to remain in their homeland.
Trump and Israeli officials have not said how they would respond if Palestinians refuse to leave.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he has ordered the military to make preparations to facilitate the emigration of large numbers of Palestinians from Gaza through land crossings as well as “special arrangements for exit by sea and air”.
There were no immediate signs of such preparations on the ground.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has not publicly responded to Trump’s controversial proposal that most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians be relocated and the United States take charge of rebuilding the territory.
Israel’s 15-month campaign against the militant Hamas group had reduced large parts of Gaza to rubble before a fragile ceasefire took hold last month.
But Egyptian officials said Cairo has made clear to the Trump administration and Israel that it will resist any such proposal, and that the peace deal with Israel — which has stood for nearly half a century — is at risk.
Egyptian officials said their government does not believe the Palestinians need to be relocated for reconstruction to proceed and is committed to the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war.
Israel’s government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and has said it will maintain open-ended security control over both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognised by most of the international community and considers the entire city its capital.
It has also moved ahead with annexation and settlements in the West Bank, in contravention of international law.
