Impractical, Incomprehensible, Illegal: Trump Traps Netanyahu and Sows Chaos With U.S. Takeover Plan for Gaza
Haaretz
By Alon Pinkas
Feb 5, 2025 2:30 pm IST
You have to admire the noble attempts to instantly try and make sense of something U.S. President Donald Trump says one day, only to furiously rebuke and deride him the next. Oh wow, the sheer creativity and sublime "out of the box" innovation of proposing to relocate over 2 million Gazans and then "take over Gaza." Genius.
Makes sense, right? Of course it does, because Gaza truly is uninhabitable. Oh no, but it's not practical or viable. In fact, it's incomprehensible.
So what does Trump want? Distraction. He thrives in the chaos and constant distractions he creates. Did he not impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and then grant them a 30-day extension since they promised they would do the things they are already doing?
Trump is a preeminent agent of chaos. That's a trademark he has always paraded, boastfully and defiantly. As he said he would, he is actively generating and promoting chaos in America, discord within alliances, and is out to undermine the world order.
Agents of chaos sow chaos. It's that simple. They instill discordance, confusion, controversy and uncertainty. That's a modus operandi, not a tailored policy or crisis management technique. Agents of chaos and anarchy are by definition out to disrupt the status quo by floating outrageous ideas, based on a simple principle: Everyone viscerally understands the status quo has exhausted its usefulness, more-of-the-same doesn't work anymore.
As for the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the endless, irrelevant and incoherent mumbling about "the two-state solution" is just an exercise in futility. Trump only said what many are thinking, right?
Yet still, you might have missed three critical points in Tuesday's reality TV sitcom in the East Room of the White House. First, until the United States "takes over Gaza," the cease-fire and stage two of the hostage release agreement need to continue – otherwise how will the Americans take over Gaza?
Second, the United States is applying "maximum pressure" on Iran to compel it to engage in a new nuclear deal. So, no U.S. war in Iran for the time being.
Third, what happened to the "Saudi-Israeli normalization" process?
After Trump returned to power, initially it was all about annexing Canada and turning it into the 51st state. Then came the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Then came the audacious proposal to purchase Greenland from Denmark – and now the United States wants to take over Gaza and turn it into a Riviera.
Who is Mar-a-Gaza for?
That's not a bad harvest for two weeks by the "America First" president of a superpower that has always prided itself on being "a reluctant empire." Are these imperialist tantrums, common-sense truisms aimed at provoking and stirring emotions, a coherent plan? Or are they just outlandish and left-field comments with a life expectancy of several days at best? It could very well be all of the above.
The realtor-in-chief came up with an amazingly simple idea: empty the Gaza Strip so that reconstruction can begin. This real-estate development process evolved throughout Tuesday. First Trump called it a "demolition site," repeating things he said a few days earlier about how the devastated-to-rubble Strip was uninhabitable. Then his aides said Gaza effectively required 15 years and billions of dollars for reconstruction, so the Palestinians would have no alternative but to move out. That makes sense when you come from real estate.
By noon, Gaza was a "hellhole," which means that 2 million Palestinians must quickly move to Egypt and Jordan – who, according to Trump, will agree to accept them.
By late afternoon in the White House, Trump was proclaiming that America will take over and turn Gaza into "the Riviera of the Middle East." But if the Palestinians are relocated, who will this Mar-a-Gaza be built for? Ah, that's easy according to Trump: "Palestinians, mostly," though it would also be "an international, unbelievable place." So maybe Greenlanders fed up with the cold, or Canadians who want an NHL expansion team in Rafah.
Even if you're not instinctively dismissive of or resistant to Trump's idea, the total lack of details and specificity make it impossible to endorse or repudiate.
There is no reference to legal matters: By what power and authority can the United States take over Gaza? Logistics: How do you relocate 2 million people, most of whom may not want to leave? Political: Who will manage this process? Financial: Who will fund this monumental undertaking? Regional: Most Arab countries have already vehemently rejected the idea.
Beyond the intuitive inclination to deride the concept, there is really no way to endorse, refute or examine its feasibility. So here's the bottom line: Do not try to find logic, coherence or patterns. Just wait a few weeks. It may all change.
What Netanyahu didn't get
Throughout his career, Benjamin Netanyahu always followed the sage advice of Yogi Berra: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." Years of solipsism, manipulation, deceit, duplicity, confabulation, interpolation and retraction, all woven into a modus operandi that provided him with success.
The indecision-maker would always come up with a speech, delivered with a tormented face and melodramatic baritone, describing the excruciating dilemmas he faced before making no decision. But not making a decision is a decision in and of itself, and he was good at it. Now Trump, for better or worse, is making decisions for him.
Netanyahu's jig is up. He was nothing more than a prop in the Trump White House show. Trump upended the playing field on Gaza, Iran and everything else. It may not be sustainable, but as of today Netanyahu has to play by Trump's rules.
Before going to Washington and after his meeting with Trump, he was presented with a fork in the road, a binary choice: desert the hostages, resume a goalless war and save his government in the immediate time frame. Or adhere to the cease-fire agreement he signed, move on to stage two and risk losing his ruling coalition.
Sometimes, making contradictory promises and giving inconsistent assurances is impossible to square. Now Netanyahu will try to market a mirage, according to which he was in on Trump's plans. Maybe he was.
How does that change the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations? It doesn't. Can he now annex the West Bank? He cannot. Does it add stability and predictability to relations with the United States? It doesn't.
So what did Netanyahu get out of his Washington trip? A few days reprieve for his coalition, during which he can persuade them that Trump proved he'll allow Israel to resume the war. And did Trump do that? No.
By Alon Pinkas
Feb 5, 2025 2:30 pm IST
You have to admire the noble attempts to instantly try and make sense of something U.S. President Donald Trump says one day, only to furiously rebuke and deride him the next. Oh wow, the sheer creativity and sublime "out of the box" innovation of proposing to relocate over 2 million Gazans and then "take over Gaza." Genius.
Makes sense, right? Of course it does, because Gaza truly is uninhabitable. Oh no, but it's not practical or viable. In fact, it's incomprehensible.
So what does Trump want? Distraction. He thrives in the chaos and constant distractions he creates. Did he not impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and then grant them a 30-day extension since they promised they would do the things they are already doing?
Trump is a preeminent agent of chaos. That's a trademark he has always paraded, boastfully and defiantly. As he said he would, he is actively generating and promoting chaos in America, discord within alliances, and is out to undermine the world order.
Agents of chaos sow chaos. It's that simple. They instill discordance, confusion, controversy and uncertainty. That's a modus operandi, not a tailored policy or crisis management technique. Agents of chaos and anarchy are by definition out to disrupt the status quo by floating outrageous ideas, based on a simple principle: Everyone viscerally understands the status quo has exhausted its usefulness, more-of-the-same doesn't work anymore.
As for the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the endless, irrelevant and incoherent mumbling about "the two-state solution" is just an exercise in futility. Trump only said what many are thinking, right?
Yet still, you might have missed three critical points in Tuesday's reality TV sitcom in the East Room of the White House. First, until the United States "takes over Gaza," the cease-fire and stage two of the hostage release agreement need to continue – otherwise how will the Americans take over Gaza?
Second, the United States is applying "maximum pressure" on Iran to compel it to engage in a new nuclear deal. So, no U.S. war in Iran for the time being.
Third, what happened to the "Saudi-Israeli normalization" process?
After Trump returned to power, initially it was all about annexing Canada and turning it into the 51st state. Then came the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Then came the audacious proposal to purchase Greenland from Denmark – and now the United States wants to take over Gaza and turn it into a Riviera.
Who is Mar-a-Gaza for?
That's not a bad harvest for two weeks by the "America First" president of a superpower that has always prided itself on being "a reluctant empire." Are these imperialist tantrums, common-sense truisms aimed at provoking and stirring emotions, a coherent plan? Or are they just outlandish and left-field comments with a life expectancy of several days at best? It could very well be all of the above.
The realtor-in-chief came up with an amazingly simple idea: empty the Gaza Strip so that reconstruction can begin. This real-estate development process evolved throughout Tuesday. First Trump called it a "demolition site," repeating things he said a few days earlier about how the devastated-to-rubble Strip was uninhabitable. Then his aides said Gaza effectively required 15 years and billions of dollars for reconstruction, so the Palestinians would have no alternative but to move out. That makes sense when you come from real estate.
By noon, Gaza was a "hellhole," which means that 2 million Palestinians must quickly move to Egypt and Jordan – who, according to Trump, will agree to accept them.
By late afternoon in the White House, Trump was proclaiming that America will take over and turn Gaza into "the Riviera of the Middle East." But if the Palestinians are relocated, who will this Mar-a-Gaza be built for? Ah, that's easy according to Trump: "Palestinians, mostly," though it would also be "an international, unbelievable place." So maybe Greenlanders fed up with the cold, or Canadians who want an NHL expansion team in Rafah.
Even if you're not instinctively dismissive of or resistant to Trump's idea, the total lack of details and specificity make it impossible to endorse or repudiate.
There is no reference to legal matters: By what power and authority can the United States take over Gaza? Logistics: How do you relocate 2 million people, most of whom may not want to leave? Political: Who will manage this process? Financial: Who will fund this monumental undertaking? Regional: Most Arab countries have already vehemently rejected the idea.
Beyond the intuitive inclination to deride the concept, there is really no way to endorse, refute or examine its feasibility. So here's the bottom line: Do not try to find logic, coherence or patterns. Just wait a few weeks. It may all change.
What Netanyahu didn't get
Throughout his career, Benjamin Netanyahu always followed the sage advice of Yogi Berra: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." Years of solipsism, manipulation, deceit, duplicity, confabulation, interpolation and retraction, all woven into a modus operandi that provided him with success.
The indecision-maker would always come up with a speech, delivered with a tormented face and melodramatic baritone, describing the excruciating dilemmas he faced before making no decision. But not making a decision is a decision in and of itself, and he was good at it. Now Trump, for better or worse, is making decisions for him.
Netanyahu's jig is up. He was nothing more than a prop in the Trump White House show. Trump upended the playing field on Gaza, Iran and everything else. It may not be sustainable, but as of today Netanyahu has to play by Trump's rules.
Before going to Washington and after his meeting with Trump, he was presented with a fork in the road, a binary choice: desert the hostages, resume a goalless war and save his government in the immediate time frame. Or adhere to the cease-fire agreement he signed, move on to stage two and risk losing his ruling coalition.
Sometimes, making contradictory promises and giving inconsistent assurances is impossible to square. Now Netanyahu will try to market a mirage, according to which he was in on Trump's plans. Maybe he was.
How does that change the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations? It doesn't. Can he now annex the West Bank? He cannot. Does it add stability and predictability to relations with the United States? It doesn't.
So what did Netanyahu get out of his Washington trip? A few days reprieve for his coalition, during which he can persuade them that Trump proved he'll allow Israel to resume the war. And did Trump do that? No.
