Donald Trump has once again proposed that the US take control of the Gaza Strip and turn the entire area into a “freedom zone”.
However, what this would mean in practice for the population is highly unclear, and Palestinian activists emphasize that they have no interest in coming under US sovereignty.
During a visit to Doha, Qatar, Donald Trump reiterated his vision of the US “taking over” the Gaza Strip and creating a so-called freedom zone.
The statement comes in the middle of a regional tour and follows earlier heavily criticized proposals to transform Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East“ by moving the Palestinian population to neighboring countries and replacing them with “people from all over the world”.
– We are working very hard on Gaza and Gaza has been a territory of death and destruction, the president proclaimed, continuing:
– I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone.
Israel’s most important ally
He did not clarify exactly what a “freedom zone” means, nor has Trump previously provided details on how a relocation or reconstruction of Gaza would be carried out.
Qatar and Egypt, which are mediating in the war between Israel and Hamas, have seen peace negotiations stall in recent months, as large-scale displacement of Palestinians is rejected not only by the Palestinians themselves, but also by many Arab states.
Trump’s proposal raises questions about whether the people of Gaza have any interest in breaking Israeli occupation under American control. Since the outbreak of the war, over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed and most of the infrastructure destroyed, according to the UN. Many more have been injured or are missing under the rubble, and more and more voices are describing the situation as ongoing genocide.
Many Palestinian activists and outside observers point out that the US supports and has enabled Israel’s invasion, bombings, and war crimes, and that from a Palestinian perspective, it is hardly desirable for Israel’s closest ally, the US, to take control of the area.
Others emphasize that the Palestinian people want and have the right to independence and self-determination and to rule over their own territory – without having to submit to either Israel or the US.
