The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly exploring a bold plan to relocate some residents of the Gaza Strip to other countries during the region’s reconstruction, according to a report by NBC News on Sunday. The idea of helping Gazans relocate has been verboten during the Biden administration, and any Israeli who suggested Gaza Arabs would fare much better abroad than they are doing among the detritus of their bombed neighborhoods was dubbed a right-wing extremist.
Now, according to a Trump transition team official with direct knowledge of the ceasefire process who spoke to NBC News, Steve Witkoff, the President-elect’s Middle East envoy, is considering a visit to the war-torn Gaza Strip as part of his efforts to ensure the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas remains on track.
The question of how to rebuild Gaza remains unresolved, along with the challenge of where to temporarily relocate the approximately two million Gaza Arabs. According to the transition official, Indonesia is one of the locations being considered as a potential host for some of them.
Simultaneously, Witkoff is focused on establishing long-term stability for both Israelis and the two million displaced Gazans. This effort centers on implementing the three phases of the agreement reached earlier this week.
A visit to Gaza would provide Witkoff with firsthand insight into the situation on the ground, rather than relying solely on accounts from either Israel or the PA, the official told NBC News, adding, “You’ve got to see it; you’ve got to feel it.”
While overseeing the current phase of the agreement and negotiating the next, Trump and his team are also grappling with the challenge of finding long-term solutions.
“If we don’t help the Gazans, if we don’t improve their lives, and if we don’t give them a sense of hope, a rebellion is inevitable,” the transition official warned.
Relations between Indonesia and PA Arabs have long been close and friendly. Indonesia has consistently refused to recognize the State of Israel until a peace agreement is achieved between Israel and “Palestine,” and has been offering strong support for the PA Arabs in their fight against Jews.
PLO leader Yasser Arafat visited Indonesia multiple times, including in 1984 to meet President Suharto; in September 1992 to attend the 10th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Jakarta; and in 1993, and August 2000 to meet Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid in Jakarta.
On October 21–23, 2007, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas made his first official state visit to Indonesia, where he signed several cooperation agreements with Indonesia, focusing on areas such as communications and education. Abbas returned to Indonesia for further visits in May 2010 and February 2014.
In June 2024, Indonesia announced that it would evacuate 1,000 victims of the war in Gaza for medical treatment, according to the Jakarta Post. The announcement was made by Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto at a news conference at the State Palace in Jakarta.
“We are taking steps to channel assistance to Palestine,” Prabowo said, adding, “Indonesia has announced its readiness to evacuate 1,000 patients for medical treatment in Indonesia. They will be returned to Gaza after recovering, once the situation there stabilizes,”
He also stated that Indonesia is ready to accommodate 1,000 traumatized Gazan children, offering them the opportunity to study in Indonesia and return when the time is right. Prabowo mentioned that Muslim boarding schools in East and West Java had agreed to take care of Gazan children who had been orphaned by the war.
