14 February 2025
Trump’s riviera of Palestinian blood
US President Trump claims Gaza is nothing more than a demolition site, ignoring the fact that American bombs created it.
His vision? A luxury hub in Gaza—bankrolled not by the US, but by Middle Eastern states—while Palestinians are forced into the deserts of Egypt and Jordan
His words drip with supremacist entitlement, treating Gaza as a prize to be claimed, its people as an inconvenience to be removed. He insists that Gaza should be “emptied” of Palestinians, placed under US control, and turned into a luxury tourist destination where people of the world can come and live, but not Palestinians.
In recent days, he has openly stated that the US would “take over” Gaza but would not pay for its reconstruction—reducing an entire population’s forced displacement to a real estate deal. In a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Trump reportedly made his position even clearer: “We’re not going to buy anything. We’re going to take it. There is nothing to buy."
Trump spoke about the number of Palestinians in Gaza, referring to a population of 1.7 or 1.8 million, despite reports from early 2025 estimating it at 2.1 million, down from 2.3 million in 2023. Whether he is misstating figures, deliberately downplaying the scale of forced displacement, or hinting at something far darker—an already reduced population due to relentless bombardment, starvation, and mass killing—the question remains: why?
Historically, altering population figures has been a tool of governments to justify policy—whether to downplay casualties in war, inflate voter rolls, or erase entire communities from public consciousness. If Trump’s numbers are accurate, what happened to the missing 300,000 people?
This is not just arrogance—it is a direct violation of international law. Amnesty International has condemned Trump’s proposal as a war crime that could amount to a crime against humanity. The forced removal of Palestinians from Gaza follows a long pattern of Israeli policies aimed at their displacement, from the Nakba of 1948 to mass killings, land confiscations, and the destruction of Palestinian homes today.
Leading genocide scholars, including Israeli historian Raz Segal and Holocaust historian Amos Goldberg, have called Israel’s assault on Gaza a “textbook case of genocide.” Francesca Albanese, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, has warned that Israel is committing at least three acts of genocide, including the deliberate destruction of Palestinians as a people.
Trump speaks of “redevelopment” as if the devastation were an unfortunate accident rather than the direct outcome of US-backed policies. There is no reconstruction plan—only erasure. The strategy is clear: devastate a population through bombardment, starve them by blocking humanitarian aid, then present mass displacement as the inevitable solution.
Trump is not an anomaly; he is simply the next executor of a longstanding US policy. Successive administrations—Democratic and Republican—have funded, armed, and politically shielded Israel as it entrenched apartheid and colonisation. From Reagan to Obama, from Bush to Biden, the pattern has remained consistent: support Israel’s expansion, provide the weapons, and justify the war crimes. Trump’s rhetoric is more brazen, but the underlying policy remains unchanged.
Trump may see Gaza as prime beachfront property, ripe for development, and a reservoir of 1.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. But Gaza is not his to take. Despite overwhelming military force, the people of Gaza remain steadfast in resisting their own erasure.
As the fragile ceasefire teeters on the edge of collapse, Trump’s words take on an even more sinister meaning. If the truce fails, Palestinians in Gaza will once again be subjected to relentless bombardment, trapped under siege with no access to food, water, or medical aid. Amnesty’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, has pointed out the reality behind Trump’s words—the almost complete destruction of Gaza.
The rightful owners of the land, those buried under the rubble, and those who remain steadfast despite genocide, are barely mentioned in discussions of Gaza’s future. Justice for them is not even a consideration in the policies of Washington and Tel Aviv. But the world must not look away.
The world cannot accept the erasure of Gaza as a real estate project. Governments, international bodies, and civil society must reject Trump’s proposals and call for an end to forced displacement and war crimes in Gaza. The full restoration of Palestinian rights, including the right to return, must be upheld. Immediate accountability for those responsible for genocide, including sanctions and prosecutions under international law, is essential. The cessation of military aid that enables war crimes must be demanded.
This is not a time for silence. The future of Gaza, and the lives of its people, depend on global solidarity and action.