President Trump’s Gaza “Takeover” Plan: A Violation of International Law, Ethics and Morality
Trump’s Proposal
President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to “takeover” the Gaza Strip has ignited significant controversy and concern. The proposal has been criticised for being not just morally bankrupt, but sheer lunacy (Foreign Policy, 2025a), reflecting a broader trend of diminishing Palestinian humanity in U.S. political discourse (Newsweek, 2023). The plan entails the relocation of over 2 million Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, and the redevelopment of the area into a prosperous region, dubbed the “Riviera of the Middle East” (BBC News, 2025).
This proposal follows a roughly 15-month Israeli offensive against Palestine, which has rendered much of the Palestinian homeland uninhabitable. During this period, over 48,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 125,000 injured across the Gaza Strip and West Bank, as illustrated in Figure 1, based on data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Statista, 2025). Trump has suggested that the United States would oversee this transformation, potentially involving a U.S. military presence to ensure security and facilitate reconstruction (AP News, 2025a).
The international community’s condemnation of the plan has further isolated the U.S. and Israel, exacerbating diplomatic rifts. However, the proposal has been positively received by Prime Minister Netanyahu and many Israelis. Disturbingly, an unnamed senior Israeli official was quoted as stating that Trump’s ideas exceeded all his “expectations and dreams” (BBC News, 2025).
The plan’s approach to forced displacement and redevelopment has been likened to instances of “disaster capitalism” (The Guardian, 2025), a concept suggesting that governments and corporations exploit crises to implement policies and consolidate power (Klein, 2007). This comparison underscores significant ethical concerns regarding the proposal.
A Violation of International Law and Ethics
President Trump’s plan for Gaza is fundamentally illegal under international law. Navi Pillay, head of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, has stated that “Trump is woefully ignorant of international law and the law of occupation” (Politico, 2025).
Forcibly displacing an entire population contravenes international legal standards. Article 49 of the Geneva Conventions states that “Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive” (International Committee of the Red Cross, 2025).
The plan has also been criticised for its dehumanising nature. Treating Palestinians as obstacles to be removed, rather than individuals with rights and deep connections to their homeland, disregards their attachment to their land and their right to self-determination (AP News, 2025a). Omar Shakir of Human Rights Watch stated that it would be “a moral abomination” to displace Palestinians, further noting that “when such forced displacement is widespread, it can amount to a war crime or a crime against humanity” (Reuters, 2025). Additionally, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing (The Think Tank Journal, 2025).
A Threat to Regional Stability
In addition to humanitarian concerns, the forced displacement of an entire population is likely to exacerbate regional tensions rather than alleviate them. Such actions could lead to widespread resentment among Palestinians and the broader Arab world, potentially fuelling further conflict (The Think Tank Journal, 2025).
Neighbouring countries, including Egypt and Jordan, have already rejected the idea of resettling large numbers of Palestinians, citing concerns over internal stability and demographic impacts (AP News, 2025a). In response, President Trump has increased pressure on these nations to agree to his proposal to house the Palestinian population of Gaza, stating that “If they don’t agree, I would conceivably withhold aid” (New York Times, 2025). Given that both Egypt and Jordan are major recipients of U.S. military and economic aid, this threat could have significant repercussions for them.
Additionally, Saudi Arabia issued a rare statement rejecting the idea and reiterating that it will not normalise relations with Israel, a key goal of the Trump administration, without the establishment of a Palestinian state that includes Gaza (AP News, 2025b).
The proposal also directly risks undermining the ceasefire in Gaza and the ongoing release of hostages. Although Trump claimed credit for brokering this truce, its future is now more uncertain (PBS News, 2025), highlighting the regional controversy that the plan has already sparked.
The Palestinian Stance
Most importantly, the Palestinian people are deeply opposed to the proposal. Palestinians view Gaza as an integral part of their national homeland and aspire to an independent state in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem (The Hill, 2025). Reflecting this sentiment on the global stage, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, suggested that if Trump’s goal is to send the Palestinians to a “happy, nice place,” they should return to their ancestral homes in Israel (PBS News, 2025). The idea of remaining on one’s land despite threats of expulsion is central to the Palestinians’ struggle. Despite facing decades of oppression, Palestinians have managed to preserve their cultural heritage and maintain a sense of unity (Medium, 2023).
Trump’s Gaza takeover plan is extremely problematic due to its potential violations of international law, ethical and humanitarian issues, and risks of regional destabilisation. The original dispossession of Palestinians following Israel’s creation in 1948, known in Arabic as the Nakba, or catastrophe, produced decades of violence and instability, and a U.S.-sponsored second Nakba would likely ensure decades more of both (Foreign Policy, 2025b). At present, the true fallout of the proposal remains to be seen.
Bibliography
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