During his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 4, US President Donald Trump announced a plan to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip to other countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, and rebuild the enclave to become the "Riviera of the Middle East" under American control. This was his solution to the crisis in Gaza, which in his opinion has become unlivable.
In Israel, the governing coalition parties were openly receptive to Trump’s plan, even celebratory, as they view Trump’s announcement as a historic opportunity to implement their plans to displace the population of Gaza. Opposition parties considered on the center-right of the political map, did not oppose the proposal. On the left, Yair Golan's The Democrats Party—formed in July 2024 from the merger of the Labor and Meretz parties (the latter considered itself a left-wing Zionist party)—sees Trump’s plan as unrealistic, but did not reject it on principle.
This paper argues that the positions of the center-right and leftist Zionist parties toward President Trump's proposal are a direct continuation of their support of the genocidal war on Gaza and the desire for tribal revenge after October 7, 2023. Since the Hamas attack, these parties, which historically never rejected the idea of Palestinian displacement, have adopted more hostile attitudes toward the Palestinian people in general and toward the residents of Gaza in particular. The paper concludes that, indeed, the desire for revenge is not exclusive to far-right currents in Israel; it is now common throughout Israeli Jewish society. Proposals to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip are not limited to right-wing and far-right parties; they are now acceptable to the majority.
To read the Position Paper in English, click here
To read the Position Paper in Arabic, click here
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