As the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip continues to capture the international community’s attention, the ceasefire negotiations in Doha and the behind-the-scenes talks in Washington once again reveal just how fragile the hopes for peace in the region are.<\/p>\n
Looking at the history of negotiations over the last 30 years, it is clear that the heart of this process has always beaten between Tel Aviv and Washington. Europe, too, offers unconditional support and encouragement that goes beyond mere silent approval. The German Chancellor’s admission during the Iran-Israel conflict, “Israel is doing our dirty work,” is shocking, even if it was merely stating the obvious.<\/p>\n
The West, which embarked on the task of shaping the Middle East during World War I, is perhaps more determined and monolithic than ever. Israel as a bridgehead in the Middle East is no longer enough, and they want more.<\/p>\n
Palestinians have often been the party expected only to approve the “solutions” imposed on them. Unlike the technical talks in Doha, the process led by Trump and Netanyahu involves real bargaining, give-and-take, and even long-term demographic engineering plans. This is a development that, far from being a solution, not only deepens the status quo but adds a new dimension to it.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu appears to have skillfully manipulated both Trump’s personal ambitions and his political agenda to gain significant room for maneuver to achieve Israel’s regional goals.<\/p>\n
Although Trump wants to position himself as a peacemaker, he continues to turn a blind eye to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. What Trump describes as a tragedy is, in fact, defined by international jurists and human rights organizations as genocide and ethnic cleansing.<\/p>\n
Called a ‘humanitarian city,’ in reality a concentration camp<\/strong><\/p>\n The claim that the military operations in Gaza are being conducted solely for security reasons lost its credibility long ago. It is very clear that the Israeli government’s post-war plans are a move aimed at permanently displacing Palestinians from their lands and taking control of these evacuated areas under the guise of reconstruction. This is frequently acknowledged and voiced by the hawkish wing of the Israeli government, which makes even Netanyahu look like a moderate.<\/p>\n What is happening in Gaza is not a natural disaster, but a systematic crime against humanity. In an environment where hundreds of people are killed every day, expressions like “humanitarian aid” or “voluntary migration” are nothing more than a weak, shameless attempt to distort reality.<\/p>\n The humanitarian city plan proposed by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is one of the most concrete examples of this distortion. This city, planned to be built on the ruins of Rafah, resembles a concentration camp more than a humanitarian one. It would be just as ironic as America calling the bombs it dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki “fountains of life.”<\/p>\n The plan initially envisions moving 600,000 Palestinians to this area, and then gathering the entire population of Gaza (approximately 2 million people) there. It has been announced that Palestinians will be screened before being admitted to the camp, and only those with no connection to Hamas will be allowed in. Palestinians who enter the camp will be pressured to forcibly migrate to another country; those who do not wish to migrate will not be able to go to other parts of Gaza and will be forced to remain in the camp, virtually as prisoners.<\/p>\n This process, which Katz calls “voluntary migration,” is incompatible with the free will of people who have been living under bombardment for 21 months and have lost their homes, families, and livelihoods. On the contrary, this plan is a phase of an ethnic cleansing initiative aimed at forcibly sending Palestinians from Gaza to countries like Egypt or Sudan.<\/p>\n This plan of Netanyahu’s is not a new idea. In the first weeks of the war, the efforts of then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to persuade Arab countries to accept foreign intervention in Gaza under the pretext of a humanitarian corridor show that this strategy dates back at least 20-21 months. Although Blinken backed down after the Arab countries rejected the proposal, it is clear that Netanyahu has not abandoned the idea.<\/p>\n Silent cleansing in the West Bank<\/strong><\/p>\n While Gaza is being discussed, the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank is being overlooked. Since October 7, 2023, more than 50,000 people have been displaced from three refugee camps. Bedouin communities around Ramallah and in East Jerusalem are being systematically driven from their lands.<\/p>\n The possibility of Netanyahu extending his Gaza strategy to the West Bank is seen as part of a broader plan to change the region’s demographic structure. If hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are driven into Egypt from Gaza, there is no guarantee to prevent a similar wave of expulsion from the West Bank to Jordan. This poses a serious threat not only to Palestinians but also to countries like Jordan, which are already burdened with refugees.<\/p>\n Trump’s dilemma: Seeking peace through endless wars<\/strong><\/p>\n The Trump administration’s role in this process is full of contradictions. Trump, who campaigned on the promise of ending endless wars, contradicts this rhetoric by supporting Israel’s war policies. Ideas like turning Gaza into a holiday resort are planned to be implemented by Israeli-backed companies. However, these plans are aimed not at peace, but at the systematic displacement of Palestinians and the takeover of the region by Israel. Netanyahu’s relationship with Trump plays a critical role in the implementation of these plans.<\/p>\n The current situation in Gaza is less a peace process and more a systematic strategy of displacement and control. Frankly, what is called peace is the unconditional acceptance of the “Emperor’s” [a metaphor for the dominant Western power, likely the US] demands. While the talks in Doha are shaped in Washington’s shadow, the demands of the Palestinians and international law are generally ignored.<\/p>\n A ceasefire can only be possible with clear commitments from all parties; however, the current political dynamics make it difficult to secure these commitments.<\/p>\n The future of Gaza is at a critical turning point, not just for Palestinians, but for the entire region. It seems we will continue to see a repeat of the same story in different arenas until an endlessly emboldened and spoiled Israel bites off more than it can chew.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip continues to capture the international community’s attention, the ceasefire negotiations in Doha and the behind-the-scenes talks in Washington once again reveal just how fragile the hopes for peace in the region are. Looking at the history of negotiations over the last 30 years, it is clear that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":10410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1138,11108,319,582,7947,1334,294,812,3102,1235,1404,4324,1192],"class_list":["post-10409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-concentration-camp","tag-donald-trump","tag-egypt","tag-ethnic-cleansing","tag-gaza","tag-hamas","tag-israel","tag-palestinians","tag-peace","tag-rafah","tag-sudan","tag-united-states","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"yoast_head":"\n