cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/54635924
Reuters discusses former U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial proposal for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and transform it into a luxurious "Riviera of the Middle East" while resettling Palestinians elsewhere. This plan has been widely condemned by international powers, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, France, China, Russia, and several European nations, all of which reaffirmed their support for a two-state solution.
Trump suggested that Jordan and Egypt could be persuaded to accept displaced Palestinians, though both countries have rejected the idea. Critics argue that forced displacement of Palestinians would violate international law and destabilize the region. The Palestinian militant group Hamas dismissed Trump's proposal as "ridiculous and absurd," while Palestinians fear another "Nakba" (catastrophe), referring to the mass displacement during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Saudi Arabia reaffirmed that it would not normalize relations with Israel without a Palestinian state, contradicting Trump's claim that Riyadh was open to normalization without such conditions. The proposal has raised concerns about worsening regional tensions and whether it is a serious policy initiative or a bargaining tactic.
Opinion: This reeks of tactics to drum up war in the Middle East. By bullying the little sibling that is Palestine, Trump looks to provoke the bigger Islamic states into conflict. With Trump's track record of arrogance and the already poor relationship that the United States has with countries like Iran and Iraq, that conflict is likely to happen. If Trump and his administration continues this route, there is bound to be retaliation from Palestinian supporters, and they will have a backing that will enable them to do so. It would then be the Trump administration's agenda to find a large enough enemy to blame and then likely invade.
Remember, all of you "Genocide Joe" people who insisted you needed to "send a message" by staying home and allowing Trump to return to power: You Voted For This.
This is a message that should be at the top of every single comments section of every single article we ever see about the Middle Ease again. You voted for this.
You decided you needed to "send a message" that you were against the genocide. Because you were acting as if Kamala Hariss's supporters were taping pictures of Palestinian children to targets at a shooting range and gleefully firing away or something. Trump was openly saying he'd do it harder and faster. His position throughout the campaign was to just raze the whole place and turn it into beachfront property. People were shouting from the rooftops exactly what would happen if he returned to power. We were telling you that this protest would accomplish exactly nothing but making the situation exponentially worse for the people you claimed to be trying to protect. We were trying to tell you that you don't have to like Harris or her position on the conflict, but the reality was that she was the least bad option available for those who considered this their most important issue.
You ignored us. You taunted everybody with your "Genocide Joe" monikers and insisted that Trump would be "different". When we asked to explain your reasoning, we were told to go fuck ourselves. And you stayed home. And Trump won.
And what happened? We're barely two fucking weeks into his term and he's threatening to take over the Panama Canal, Greenland, and Palestine by force. The Palestinian people you insisted you were trying to protect are now about to lose their homeland. Trump is doing exactly what he said he was going to do. Everything we told you was going to happen is happening, except more of it and faster than expected.
We fucking told you. We tried to tell you to not shoot yourself in the foot, and you decided to put the gun at your own head instead. I'm sure the Palestinian people who are about to lose their homes are so fucking grateful for the "support" you've given them. This is your fault. You allowed Trump to return to power fully knowing what Trump was promising, what would happen, and the consequences of your protest vote. You were warned well in advance and decided to go down that path. As the saying goes, elections have consequences. And the consequences of your own actions are Trump returning to power, putting the genocide on overdrive, destroying US alliances around the world, and speedrunning the country right into a recession.
You voted for this.