Washington, DC – Donald Trump has been claiming credit for the ceasefire deal that halted the war in Gaza, but the United States president’s proposal to forcibly displace the Palestinians in the territory risks torpedoing the agreement, experts say.
Trump repeatedly called this week for Gaza to be depopulated — a push that rights groups say would amount to ethnic cleansing — and for the US to “take over” the Palestinian territory.
Leaders across the world have warned that uprooting Palestinians from Gaza would destabilise the entire Middle East. More immediately, Trump’s comments could derail the push towards an enduring end to the fighting in the territory.
“President Trump’s completely outrageous and outlandish calls for the ethnic cleansing of more than two million Palestinian people from Gaza severely undermines the chances for the continuation of the ceasefire,” said Josh Ruebner, a lecturer at Georgetown University’s Justice and Peace programme.
“Of course, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians was not in any ceasefire agreement, and by Trump putting that option on the table, he stands to wreck the very fragile process.”
The ceasefire came into effect on January 19, a day before Trump took office for a second term. But the US president has argued that his negotiating efforts, led by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, were instrumental to sealing the deal.
Trump invoked the ceasefire in his inaugural address as he pledged to leave a legacy as a “peacemaker and unifier”.
Source: Al Jazeera