Trump’s Gaza plan undermines US’ regional policy

It has long been considered a grave breach of international law to deport or displace civilian populations, but in the case of US President Donald Trump’s idea of permanently removing Gazans from Gaza, it also runs counter to his ambitions of creating a peaceful and integrated region and reducing the threats from Iran and its allies. The proposal is already undermining the US’ standing in the region and emboldening its adversaries.

The idea of removing Palestinians from Gaza clearly flies in the face of every rule the international community has safeguarded since the Second World War, particularly that populations should not be forcibly displaced from their homes, temporarily or permanently, within their countries or abroad.

Article 49 of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibits “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the occupying power or to that of any other country, occupied or not.” Article 147 of the same convention considers such acts to be war crimes.

Articles 7 and 8 of the 1998 International Criminal Court Statute also consider such acts to be war crimes and crimes against humanity, depending on whether they are committed during war or in peacetime. And so has nearly every court looking into these matters, starting with Article 6 of the 1945 Nuremberg Charter.

UN Security Council resolutions have forcefully upheld these rules. In UNSC Resolution 1674 of 2006, the council cited “the prohibition of the forcible displacement of civilians in situations of armed conflict under circumstances that are in violation of parties’ obligations under international humanitarian law.” And it reaffirmed “its condemnation in the strongest terms of all acts of violence or abuses committed against civilians in situations of armed conflict in violation of applicable international obligations with respect in particular to … forced displacement.”

Similar provisions can be found in numerous other resolutions, including 1556 on Sudan, Resolutions 752, 819, 1009, 1019 and 1034 related to the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, and Resolution 918 on Rwanda.

This is to say that the prohibition of forced displacement and deportation is among the most respected rules of international law. Therefore, for any country to call for the removal of the entire population of the Gaza Strip is incomprehensible.

The prohibition of forced displacement and deportation is among the most respected rules of international law

Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg

President Trump has made it clear that, according to his proposal, Gazans may not be allowed to return, another serious violation of international law, which prohibits denying people the right to return to their country.

The idea has been widely condemned, not only by Palestinians but by nearly every country and international organization, including the US’ close allies and partners around the world. The idea has also been rejected by many in the US, including Republican leaders. In Israel, only extremists have publicly voiced support for Trump’s idea.

The president has cited several grounds for his outlandish proposal, but none of them stand up to scrutiny. One such justification is that Gaza has been totally destroyed. He said on Tuesday: “I’ve watched it so long, all the death and destruction of Gaza. A civilization’s been wiped out in Gaza.” According to Trump, rebuilding is only possible if the population is moved elsewhere. Another reason he advanced is that Gaza would be better rebuilt into a great beach community that is open for “all people of the Middle East,” but not for the Gazans themselves. A third reason is that by removing Palestinians from Gaza, it would be safer for Israel, as Hamas would be denied a place to regroup.

But reconstruction could take place while the population is still there; they could provide the workforce instead of importing workers from outside. They could also fill the jobs available after reconstruction. Their gainful employment would reduce the need for outside assistance and make them less vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups.

As for security, the best way to provide it is by reunifying Gaza with the West Bank and allowing the Palestinian Authority to resume governing the Strip. Stability will return only if Palestinians can exercise their inalienable right to govern themselves in their own independent and unified state. Displacing 2 million people would destabilize the entire region and only increase Israel’s insecurity.

The proposal has already weakened the US’ standing in the region and shored up its adversaries, who have long said that the war in Gaza was against the Palestinians as a whole and not Hamas, accusing Israel of harboring ideas of driving the Gazans out and reoccupying the Strip.

It is also undermining the Trump administration’s regional policies. The idea of normalization between countries in the region is now in the distant background, if not totally forgotten. Even more distant is the idea of regional integration, which has been another of Trump’s goals since his first administration. Similarly, the hope of a unified front against Iran’s regional hegemony or its nuclear and missile programs is fading.

Though still fragile, the ceasefire in Gaza has quieted the Red Sea front, as the Houthis of Yemen have ceased their attacks against international shipping. By proposing to deport Gaza’s population, Trump is giving the Houthis another lease of life. They are now agitating to resume attacks on ships, while also threatening to attack government-held areas in Yemen itself.

The deportation idea will certainly embolden other nefarious groups. Hezbollah will have a new pretext to resume operations, Daesh will have a new drum to beat and Iran-aligned militias in Iraq will rally behind a new call for action against the displacement of Gazans.

If the US tries to go ahead with this plan, it could expose American officials and troops to new threats, including the risk of legal action, according to experts. Kenneth Roth, the former head of Human Rights Watch, America’s largest human rights organization, said: “Just because Trump endorses a war crime — forcibly displacing Palestinians from Gaza — doesn’t make it any less a war crime. To the contrary, if Trump played a major role, he could be charged by the (International Criminal Court) with aiding and abetting this war crime.” That goes for lesser officials as well.

• Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the Gulf Cooperation Council assistant secretary-general for political affairs and negotiation. The views expressed here are personal and do not necessarily represent the GCC. X: @abuhamad1