Benjamin Netanyahu nominates President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize
President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House.
Gaza, July 8 (Reuters) – Every time Mansoor Abu al-Khair stares at Gaza, a 45-year-old Palestinian man sees death and destruction in a small enclave after nearly two years of war between Hamas militants and Israel.
However, despite the shattering of Palestinian lives in Israel’s airstrikes and heavy artillery bombardment, Al-Kayer and others have completely rejected Israel’s Israeli support program, which would drive away Gaza’s 2.3 million population.
“This is our land. Who will we leave it to, where will we go?” I asked the engineer Alkaier.
Trump, who held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, showed progress in the controversial initiative to relocate Palestinians from coastal enclaves, citing “large cooperation from neighboring countries…”.
Netanyahu spoke with reporters at the start of dinner between US and Israeli officials, saying the US and Israel are suggesting that Gazan can move to neighboring countries, working with other countries that will give Palestinians a “better future.”
In his interaction with Trump, Netanyahu said: “Whether people want to stay, they can stay. But if they want to leave, they should be able to leave. It should not be a prison. It should be an open place and give people a free choice.”
He added: “We are working very closely with the US on finding countries that want to recognize that we want to give Palestinians a better future. I think we are approaching finding some countries.”
Asked about Netanyahu’s remarks, UN Human Rights spokesman Rabina Shamdasani told a briefing at a press conference in Geneva.
“This raises concerns about forced relocation, which is very questionable to the concept of voluntary transfer in the context we are currently seeing in Gaza.”
Five days after becoming president in January, Trump said Jordan and Egypt should bring Palestinians from Gaza, but he should suggest that he is open to this being a long-term plan.
Cairo and Amman quickly rejected Trump’s idea of turning poor Gaza into a “Middle Eastern Riviera,” and did so too, Palestinians and human rights groups who said the plan would cleanse the people.
When asked about the evacuation of Palestinians this week, Trump said countries around Israel were helping. “We have been working with a lot from neighboring countries… so something good happens,” Trump said.
Saed, a 27-year-old Gaza Palestinian, woke up plagued by news that Trump and Netanyahu, whose troops flattened most of Gaza, were once again floating the idea of displacement.
Even after more than 20 months of war and repeated internal displacements, he remains deeply attached to Gaza. Gaza is a small, dense strip that is home to a generation of refugees from the war of 1948 that led to the creation of Israel.
“We have the right to leave our free will and visit other countries, but we reject the evacuation plan as Palestinians,” Saed said.
Palestinians have long sought to create independent states in the West Bank of Israel, Gaza and East Jerusalem through the peace process through the United States.
The repeated fear of “Nakba”
Many Palestinians accused Israel of orderly undermining their national outlook by increasing the construction of villages on the West Bank and leveling much of Gaza during the current war.
Israel refuses to file accusations and says it is fighting solely to eliminate Palestinian extremists, poses an existential threat and has historical and biblical roots in the West Bank.
Displacement is one of the most emotional issues for Palestinians who fear the repeat of the 1948 “Nakba” (catastrophe), in which hundreds of thousands of people confiscated their homes at the birth of Israel.
Nakba has been one of the decisive experiences for Palestinians for over 75 years, and in the decades since then it has helped shape and cast a shadow of the national identity in conflicting relations with Israel.
For the Israelites, the creation of their nation was a pleasant moment for many people.
According to Israeli tallies, the Gaza War exploded when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Approximately 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 people still alive.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian enclave in the war with Hamas have killed more than 57,000 Palestinians.
Some Palestinians are looking for merciless Israeli airstrikes and severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and water, according to findings from the Centre for Policy Research in Palestine.
“If possible, almost half would like to leave the Gaza Strip,” the think tank said in its May report.
The proposal seen by Reuters and the proposal to name the controversial US aid aid group explained plans to build a large camp known as “humanitarian transport areas” inside and possibly outside Gaza to house Palestinians.
He outlined his vision to “replace Hamas’ control over the Gaza population.”
As far as Abu Samir el-Fakhawi of Gaza and Palestine is concerned, “I will not leave Gaza. This is my country.”
He added: “Our children who were martyrs in the war are buried here. Our family. Our friends. Our cousins. We are all buried here. Whether it’s Trump or Netanyahu, we will remain on this land.”
(Additional reporting by Stephen Shea and Emma Phage of Jerusalem, Geneva, written by Michael George, edited by Mark Heinrich)
