During his press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, President Donald Trump presented his plan for relocating the residents of the Gaza Strip elsewhere. Is this an absurd idea? Certainly not. Population transfers are taking place at any given moment around the world. Moreover, even forced transfers or planned relocations have been carried out and continue to occur globally. Turks left Greek territories and moved to Anatolia, including the ancestors of Erdoğan. Jews left Arab countries for Israel, many out of fear for their lives or by force imposed by local governments. Hindus moved from Pakistan to India, and Muslims moved from India to Pakistan. These are just a few examples.
So why is the relocation of Gaza residents perceived so negatively? Why shouldn’t there be fear of transferring the residents of the Strip to other parts of the world? First, it should be noted that approximately 70% of Gaza’s population has always considered themselves temporary residents in the area—descendants of the 1948 refugees. Most of them lived in the eight refugee camps scattered throughout Gaza. A large number of their descendants actively participated in the “March of Return” protests starting in 2018, aimed at perpetuating their aspiration to return to the villages and towns they left in what is now Israel—places like Ashdod, Majdal Asqalan, Be’er Sheva, and Jaffa.
The descendants of Gaza’s refugee camps form the core of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including their leadership. Among them are Ahmed Yassin and Ismail Haniyeh, who are from the village of Joura near Ashkelon (residents of the Shati refugee camp); Yahya and Mohammed Sinwar, as well as Ibrahim al-Yazouri, who lived in the Khan Yunis refugee camp; and Razi Hamad, who was born in the Yibna refugee camp in Rafah. Many other leaders in these movements share similar origins. Therefore, those who already live with a refugee mindset and rely on a designated refugee agency are detached from the land. If they were not, they would be hypocrites exploiting humanitarian aid, and they should bear the consequences—especially when four generations have sustained this refugee identity since 1948.
The question arises: Does Netanyahu genuinely believe that the refugees in Gaza can be relocated? He has stated that the Jewish settlement in Gaza is unrealistic. However, Netanyahu speaks little and acts decisively. He gave the (quiet) directive to eliminate any possibility of residence in Gaza—look at where his policies have led.
But the public asks: What will our neighbors say about this? The answer is simple. Just as Islam and the Arabs expelled the Jews from Medina, Khaybar, and the entire Arabian Peninsula in the early days of Islam, just as all Arab countries expelled the million Jews who lived in Morocco, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon long before the Arab conquerors arrived in the seventh century, and just as most of Gaza’s residents arrived there in 1949, it is possible to do the same today. Just as five million refugees left Syria, two million Yemenis fled to Egypt, and a million Lebanese moved to Syria, so too can a million Arabs leave Gaza.
The opposition to expelling Gazans stems from the fact that they are the spearhead in the struggle of Islam against Judaism and Arab nationalism against Zionism. If Jerusalem and the Temple Mount return to Jewish control, it undermines the Islamic religious belief that Islam replaced Judaism as the true faith.
The Axis of Evil vs. The Axis of Prosperity
The phased strategy that Netanyahu should propose, in line with Trump’s vision, must include the five “fingers” of the Israeli-American iron fist:
1. The Sunni Fundamentalist Threat
Turkey, Qatar, and Syria form the core of this challenge. Netanyahu’s primary task during Trump’s first term was to warn about the emerging Shiite axis and address Iran. Trump imposed sanctions on Iran and withdrew from the nuclear deal. Now, the major challenge is confronting the Sunni fundamentalist threat posed by various Islamic movements, led by Erdoğan and the Emir of Qatar—the military protector and economic-media patron, respectively. Alongside them stands Al-Julani, the leader of the Syrian rebels.
This axis is dangerous because, potentially, most Muslims in the region are Sunni. In a free election, they would vote for Islamist movements like Hamas and Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (as seen in Jordan and Morsi’s Egypt). Qatar pushed this agenda during the World Cup, Erdoğan keeps making overtures toward Jerusalem, and Al Jazeera’s rhetoric aligns with the interests of Gaza’s militants.
This is the key challenge that Netanyahu must present to the president. He must look ahead and not be swayed by the Qatari emir’s pleasantries or economic power. Instead, he must recognize Qatar’s financial grip on global institutions, particularly in the U.S.
Erdoğan’s Turkey is a militarily constrained force with economic limitations and a thirst for cash flow. Therefore, it exploits Syria as a financial investment hub and an energy corridor between the Gulf and Europe. Israel must set conditions for this emerging axis, which passes through Jordan, while simultaneously developing its energy corridor through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Cyprus, and Greece. These two energy routes can coexist if Erdoğan remains restrained by the U.S. However, this is a difficult challenge since Trump admires Erdoğan’s strength, and Netanyahu must expose the darker side of the Turkish leader—his support for ISIS and Al-Qaeda affiliates and his attacks on the Kurds, the only significant pro-Western democratic force in the region.
Qatar, on the other hand, is a suitable candidate to absorb Gazan refugees. It is a country dependent on foreign laborers from Pakistan and Bangladesh, and it is not far-fetched that it needs additional workers. If Arab-Islamic brotherhood truly matters to Qatar, and if the Palestinian cause is as crucial to it as it portrays through Al Jazeera—especially during the World Cup and the ongoing conflict—then President Trump should seriously consider this option. Without the American military base protecting it, Qatar—reviled in the region—would likely have collapsed.
2. The Disintegrating Shiite Axis
This is Netanyahu’s second challenge. Israel must embrace Iraq economically and draw it into the expanding Abraham Accords. Iraq’s economic market is ripe for technological and energy investment, and many voices express reservations about its ties with Iran. Likewise, a post-Hezbollah Lebanon should be part of the moderate axis, ensuring that its borders are secured against the influx of Iranian and Sunni-Turkish weapons from the north, the destruction of Hezbollah’s weaponry, and close monitoring of Shiite forces within the Lebanese army.
Israel, for its part, should push Trump to explicitly declare his intention to revive Lebanon and restore it to its former status as the “French Riviera of the Middle East.” The condition must be that areas resisting this transformation will not receive development aid.
3. Iran and the Houthis
Iran must undergo decisive treatment from Trump, with sanctions aimed at creating domestic pressure for liberation from theocratic rule. The U.S. president should offer Iran the opportunity to join the Axis of Prosperity while simultaneously preparing to strike it without hesitation if necessary.
Meanwhile, the Houthis, as both a military and governing force, should be contained through a naval blockade surrounding their ports, effectively besieging them. The Houthis control a mountainous region crisscrossed by valleys near Yemen’s land borders, making them vulnerable to disruptions in transportation infrastructure—an approach that effectively weakened Hezbollah. As the lion weakens, the foxes rise, allowing opposing factions to exploit their vulnerabilities.
Additionally, I see potential for relocating Palestinians to Yemen, coupled with a commitment to rebuilding its economy and turning it into a stable and central hub for energy trade via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. This arrangement would also strengthen Egypt’s economy.
4. Jordan and Egypt
If these countries seek American advancement and support, they must accept refugees and, at the very least, allow their territories to be used as transit routes. Investments from the Abraham Accords will be directed toward them, and they will gain access to the assets of a renewed Gaza. Additionally, aligning with the anti-Houthi coalition will grant Egypt a significant role in the rejuvenated Axis of Prosperity.
5. The Arabs of Israel in Gaza and the West Bank
Netanyahu must present Trump with the magnitude of threats posed to Israel by the Palestinian Authority, which has detained terrorists in the West Bank under “protective custody” to shield them from capture by the IDF. He must highlight the Palestinian Authority’s two-faced approach—it acts as a Trojan horse by financing terrorists while simultaneously harming Israel’s international standing, all while expanding its de facto control in Area C in violation of the Oslo Accords.
Israel should secure American backing for the annexation of the Jordan Valley and Area C, recognizing that the Palestinian Authority and Gaza are effectively the same. Palestinian governance should transition from national autonomy to municipal autonomy.
At the same time, there must be a concerted effort to ensure that the entire civil infrastructure of Hamas in Gaza—including educators, university lecturers, kindergarten teachers, schoolteachers, government clerks, security personnel, and anyone affiliated with Hamas or Islamic Jihad—leaves the Strip. Gaza must be depopulated of its militant civilian base. Those who remain should be scrutinized closely and concentrated in residential towers. They will be responsible for developing the region’s tourism and leisure industry, operating the port for international trade, and cultivating agriculture, akin to the former Gush Katif settlements. Furthermore, they will be permitted to travel via Ben Gurion Airport or a border crossing with Syria through Israel.
Gaza will become an international riviera, managed by Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Palestinians who agree to abide by the rules will receive only municipal autonomy. To ease conditions for Gaza’s residents, humanitarian aid will be distributed by Israel directly to nuclear families, a system designed to weaken Hamas’s control. This strategy will gradually dismantle Hamas’s grip on power. Each day that Hamas clings to its rule, humanitarian aid will be further restricted. If Hamas persists, the Strip will collapse from within, inviting challenges to its authority. Additionally, Gazans can travel via Ben Gurion Airport or through the Syrian border crossing via Israel.
If all these steps are implemented, we may see the realization of the biblical prophecy:
“Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia, I shout in triumph” (Psalms 60:10)
