For decades upon decades, many have used the term “Ethnic cleansing” to describe Israeli actions in Palestine. For decades upon decades, it has been a subject of great debate. Now, it appears that it is true, the plan for Gaza proposed by Donald J. Trump is ethnic cleansing, and to say that it isn’t, might as well be pure denial.
January 24th, 2025
On January 24th, 2025, President Trump stated that he believed that Egypt and Jordan should take in over a million and a half Palestinians from Gaza, in what he described as an effort to “clean out the whole thing.” He described Gaza as currently being a “demolition site”, which it is considering the war. He then expressed a will to get involved with a number of Arab nations to relocate Gazans. When asked if this was temporarily or permanent, he said “It could be either, it could be temporary, it could be long term.”
Perhaps maybe there was improper phrasing on the part of President Trump. It is entirely possible that his phrase “clean out the whole thing” was merely colloquial language, not trying to imply that Gazans would be moved from their homeland and “relocated” to a new country. This argument may have been able to be made. Until a few days ago.
February 4th, 2025
In a conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump announced that the United States would take over the Gaza Strip, stating…
“We’ll own it, and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the sight. Level the sight and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited number of jobs and housing for the people of the area. Do a real job.”
At another point, while seated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he stated this as part of a longer statement…
“If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people permanently in nice homes, where they can be happy and not be shot, not be killed, not be knifed to death by what’s happening in Gaza. I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza.”
Given his wording about believing that people should not go back to Gaza, it appears that he does intend for this to be permanent, and not a temporary relocation. The smirk from Netanyahu also appears to say it all. When asked how many he would move out, he replied…
“All of them.”
Despite claiming that he would not send American troops to Gaza, Trump did not rule out the use of military force in his plan.
But, surely Palestinians are supportive of this plan? Surely they want to be moved out of their homeland? Let’s see what two Palestinians in Gaza interviewed by CNN, Riziq Abu Sitta and Sami Ramadan have stated about President Trump’s proposal…
“All of our children’s homes have been demolished, and our houses half destroyed, rain comes into the house, cold is coming in, and we will still stay whatever happens. Even if we stay in a tent, even if they give us castles and villas, we are not leaving our lands.”
“I want to die in my land, to stay in it. I was born in Gaza, lived in Gaza, studied in Gaza, I got married here, I had my children. Whatever happens, I will never leave it.”
It appears rather clear that Gazans wish to remain in Gaza and will not leave. How can President Trump be expected to carry out his proposal if the people he wishes to remove from the Gaza Strip do not wish to leave? Is he going to force them? Considering that he already treats groups such as undocumented immigrants as subhuman by allowing ICE to raid churches and schools and claims that Haitians in Springfield are “eating the dogs”, it would not be very surprising for him to treat Palestinians as subhuman and force them out of their homes.
The President’s Inconsistencies
In a press conference, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed questions from journalists regarding the plan. The first question asked was why Trump has reversed his own stances on being opposed to nation-building, and how owning Gaza is linked to his America First policy, and why Trump has not ruled out military force despite claiming there would be no troops in Gaza. Ms. Leavitt stated that the President has not committed to deploying troops, and will not pay for Gaza’s reconstruction, and instead the US will work closely with “partners in the region”, and that “Donald Trump, who is the best dealmaker on the planet, is going to strike a deal in the region.”
When asked why the President has not ruled out military force, Ms. Leavitt said that it was so that a form of leverage could exist in deal-making.
Then, when asked if there was a written plan about the proposal, when it was drafted, and who assisted in it. Ms. Leavitt just stated that “the plan was written in the President’s remarks last night as he revealed it to the world and to the American people. His teams are continuing to be engaged on this effort.” If the plan was only written a few days ago as he was revealing his proposal, and considering she did not say who was working on this plan, it appears more as if there is no actual plan written, making Trump’s proposal an incredibly disorganized and chaotic attempt at taking over Gaza.
Afterwards, a reporter asked why Ms. Leavitt was using the word “temporarily” if Trump implied that Gazans would be permanently moved out. She stated that Trump has made it clear that he means ‘Temporary’, despite his words saying otherwise. After this statement, she remarked “I think it’s actually quite evil to suggest that people should live in such dire conditions.” Regarding the very last sentence she stated, it would be more than appropriate to bring to her attention which administration has authorized the sale of 2,000lb bombs to Israel, and has voiced great support for Israel’s bombings in Gaza that are contributing to the dire conditions.
Finally, she was asked about if Netanyahu knew about the proposal before Trump revealed it. She confirmed that yes, he did. She did not say if Trump had been planning this, just that he has been “socializing and thinking about it for quite some time.” This does not give much confidence that there is a clear written plan.
So far, Trump has stated that moving Palestinians out of Gaza would be permanent, but his press secretary says that it is temporary. Trump says he does not want boots in Gaza, yet he will not rule out military force. Trump says that the United States will not pay for this, yet considering that he also claimed the United States would not pay for his large border fence, this promise seems very unlikely to be fulfilled. Trump goes on about Gaza being a demolition site, yet he is the one who supports further Israeli force. Trump claims to be anti-war, yet he did not rule out military force in regards to Greenland, Canada, or the Panama Canal. Trump claimed a few years ago he wished for TikTok to be banned, now he supports TikTok. So, it is extremely hard to take the words that resettlement will be “temporary” seriously.
Ethnic Cleansing, Not “Relocation”
It does not matter how nice the homes offered are (if this promise is even going to be delivered on), it does not matter where the new location is. If the people do not wish to leave, if they are being forced against their will permanently to leave their home, it is ethnic cleansing. In the words of British journalist Ash Sarkar…
“What is on the table is ethnic cleansing. When you are talking about the permanent resettlement of an entire ethnic group from the place they call home, that’s called ethnic cleansing.”
Some definitions of the term “Ethnic Cleansing:”
Oxford Languages: “The mass expulsion or killing of an unwanted ethnic or religious group in a society.”Â
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: “The term ethnic cleansing refers to the forced removal of an ethnic group from the territory.”
United Nations Commission of Experts on the Investigation of Yugoslavia: “Rendering an area ethnically homogenous by using force or intimidation to remove persons of given groups from the area.”
International Red Cross: “Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.”
Cambridge Dictionary: “The organized, often violent attempt by a particular cultural or racial group to completely remove a country or area all members of a different group.”
Judging by this, it appears that Trump’s plan, is not in fact like ethnic cleansing.
It is the definition of ethnic cleansing.
It is simply impossible to look at Israel using force to bomb Gaza into oblivion to the point living in it is absolute hell, then endorsing President Trump’s proposal to “relocate” Palestinians, and not call it ethnic cleansing. Israel made Gaza uninhabitable, and now they want to move Gazans out of it. It is rather clear that Palestinians have no intention of leaving their homes under any circumstance, meaning that the only way to accomplish this goal is by force if Israel and the US decide to go through with it. If this is not ethnic cleansing, then what is ethnic cleansing?
A CatalystÂ
Trump has used words such as “Own Gaza”, “Take over Gaza.” If any country, for example, China, stated they wanted to “Own Taiwan”, “Take over Taiwan”, would that not invoke a will to fight? Would that not be the perfect propaganda for terrorists like Hamas? Essentially, Trump has done the work of terrorist groups for them, he has admitted he wants to take over the land that they claim they fight for, and now they have the perfect rhetoric. If another October 7th happens or if Hamas breaks the current cease-fire, it is almost a guarantee that Hamas’ reasoning will be this. To Palestinians, this won’t be seen as a good-willed attempt at rebuilding their homes (if it can even be called that), it will be seen as an attempt at another Nakba.
