Gaza uproar: Trump's 'riviera' vision sparks global backlash

Dr. Osama Abo Zebida is a well-known figure in the Palestinian community associated with Poland. While living in the Gaza Strip, he worked for a Polish communication company and was a doctoral candidate at the Łódź University of Technology. He was the one to raise the alarm in 2023 that during the Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip, there were Poles present in the conflict areas. He was evacuated from there along with his family.

Now, he reacts with outrage to Trump's latest ideas about the potential future of the Palestinian enclave. - Gaza is not for sale. It will never be part of Trump's business plans or an investment put up for auction in shady deals. Gaza is not a property that can be turned into a Riviera - he tells WP. In his opinion, the US President does not understand that the region cannot be treated like real estate to be transformed into a tourist resort.

On Wednesday morning, Dr. Abo Zebida dedicated a Facebook post to Trump. In it, he described the American president as an "infantile real estate dealer." He stated that Trump wants to realise such visions using a "colonial mentality." - That's a sufficient response to these ideas - he sums up.

- The United States is ready to take over the Gaza Strip, clear it of unexploded ordnance and ruins, build homes, and ensure economic development. We will level it and create economic development that will provide an unlimited number of jobs and housing for residents of this area - announced Trump on Tuesday during a joint conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He declared that he intends to "create thousands of jobs, and it will be something the entire Middle East could be proud of." He did not rule out sending American troops to secure the region.

The idea of possible relocations of the Gaza Strip residents sparked outrage among Palestinians. Trump announced there would be a "strong suggestion" for Palestinians to leave these areas temporarily during reconstruction. When asked how many Palestinians should leave Gaza, the US President replied, "everyone," then gave a figure of 1.8 million people.

Hamad M. Nidal from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign sharply criticises the politician, referencing his remarks to a Palestinian proverb: "a madman speaks, and a wise man listens." He is particularly outraged by Trump's response to the question of relocating Palestinians from Gaza. The answer "everyone," spoken by the US President, is - according to Hamad - a display of "blatant policy." The Palestinian emphasises that US promises of "restoring peace" in the Middle East are merely empty, Hollywood-style slogans.

- Forced relocation of the population would be a war crime, as described in the Geneva Convention. Words fail to describe what we are hearing. It is unclear what Trump means. The Gaza Strip is a home and a symbol that no political calculation can change - another Palestinian living in Warsaw tells WP.

Let us remind you that in recent weeks Trump also suggested that the United States should take control of the Panama Canal, Greenland, and Canada. Now, the criticism of Trump's words quickly spread across the Arab media. Al Jazeera, an Arabic television service, comments that Trump's statements about transforming Gaza into the "Middle East Riviera" are "shocking."

- He has lost his mind. The plan for Gaza, where it becomes the "property" of the United States and residents are massively displaced, is pure nonsense, completely detached from reality. No U.S. or Western policy has ever dared to such an absurd - states Palestinian-American journalist Ramzy Baroud on social media.

Hamas, the Palestinian organisation previously ruling Gaza, quickly condemned the proposal, calling it "a recipe for creating chaos and tensions in the region." "Our people will not allow the implementation of these plans," the group stated in a statement. "What is needed is an end to occupation and aggression against the people, not their expulsion from the land. Our people in Gaza have thwarted plans for relocation and deportation while under bombardment for over 15 months," the statement added.

Currently, a fragile truce exists in the Gaza Strip between the Israeli army and Hamas. This follows the battles that erupted in response to a Hamas attack on Israel and the brutal killings of Israelis on 7 October 2023. Fifteen months of Israeli bombings, invasions, and city sieges resulted in the death, injury, or disappearance of over 170,000 people, and over 2 million others were forcibly displaced.