Donald Trump shocked much of the world when he announced plans for the US to “take over” Gaza. Speaking at a press conference with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the US president outlined a plan to “resettle” Gaza’s population of nearly 2.2 million Palestinians elsewhere in the Arab world. Several officials later added that this resettlement would be temporary while Gaza was rebuilt.
Governments around the world were quick to condemn the plan – with politicians and human rights advocates pointing out that it would amount to ethnic cleansing.
Conversely, Netanyahu praised Trump for “thinking outside the box with fresh ideas”. Yet while there is no question that this plan violates international law, it is not as unprecedented as these responses suggest.
