The Trump Plan for Gaza, featuring the relocation of civilians to places “where they can live a better life” is far from dead, despite vehement objections from Arab states who (1) don’t want the headache and (2) would prefer to leave tens of thousands of homeless families in their tents, where they provide an ongoing political cudgel to be used against Israel.
President Donald Trump has made clear that that strategy is no longer an option.
Report: US, Israel, Seeking Shelter for Gazans in East Africa
According to a report by CBS News, three sources familiar with the Trump Plan have said that both Israel and Washington are considering the possibility of involving Syria in the plan, as well as several countries in Africa.
African States Willing to Accept Gazans If They Migrate Voluntarily
“One source familiar with the Trump administration’s Middle East policy said that the administration has attempted outreach to Syria’s new interim government via a third-party interlocutor,” CBS News reported.
Another source from the region told the news outlet that the new regime of Ahmad al-Shara’a has been approached on the idea of relocating at least some Gazans to Syrian territory. However, it was unclear whether there had been any response from Damascus.
A senior Syrian official told the news outlet “they are unaware of any outreach to their government by Israel or the US about resettlement of Gazans.”
Last month, al-Shara’a said in broadcast remarks that President Donald Trump’s plan to resettle the Gazans and take control over Gaza “is a serious crime that will ultimately fail,” Reuters reported.
In an interview with the UK podcast ‘The Rest Is Politics‘, al-Shara’a said Trump’s proposal would not succeed. “I believe no power can drive people from their land. Many countries have tried to do it and they have all failed, especially during the recent war in Gaza over the past year and a half,” he said.
“Over 80 years of this conflict, all attempts to displace them have failed; those who left have regretted their decision. The Palestinian lesson that every generation has learned is the importance of holding on to their land,” al-Shara’a added.
US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said Sunday (March 16) in an interview with CBS News’ ‘Face the Nation’ with Margaret Brennan that the White House is exploring “all alternatives and options that lead to a better life for Gazans, and by the way for the people of Israel.”
Witkoff has said repeatedly that an Arab League alternative plan led by Egypt that would leave the Gazans right where they are and rebuild the enclave within five years, is patently unrealistic.
“The recent experience that we had at the Arab Summit, where we spent seven and a half hours with leaders of various Arab countries (discussing the plan and to reach a deal to free the hostages still held by Hamas) … was not encouraging,” the envoy told Brennan.
“Gaza today is uninhabitable and will probably be uninhabitable for at least the next 10 to 15 years,” Witkoff told reporters in a blunt statement last month.
Earlier this month, however, the envoy was careful not to entirely rule out the Arab League plan: “What President Trump is now talking about in Gaza is now encouraging other people in the Middle East to present proactive proposals for what we might consider.”
