Ahmed Aboudouh
President Donald Trump has started a new reality in the Middle East, regardless of what comes next. Did he also torpedo the hostage deal in Gaza? Possibly. What other outcome should people expect if proposed US policy on the territory has led to warnings against ethnic cleansing by the UN Secretary General and would effectively end the US commitment to the two-state solution?
Israel’s military has already been ordered to prepare plans to allow Palestinians to exit Gaza. That follows the US president saying the US would take over the Gaza Strip and ‘do a job with it too’.
‘We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,’ he said, explaining that America would take ‘a long-term ownership position’ to turn it into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’.
The White House later dialled back some aspects of his proposal, saying the US is not offering a commitment to rebuild Gaza or send troops. But Trump later doubled down on his position, saying the strip would be handed over to the US by Israel. This signals that Israel has no intention of leaving Gaza. That, in turn, provides a pretext for Hamas to renege on implementing the remaining phases of the deal and resuming the fight.
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