Deadline diplomacy: Trump’s Gaza ‘Riviera’ scheme mobilises the Arab world

With lives at stake, the Arab world is rallying to counter what analysts described as the US president’s ‘deranged ethnic-cleansing plan’

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The sun sets behind heavily damaged residential buildings in Jabalia, the northern Gaza Strip, on Monday. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00am, 22 Feb 2025Updated: 10:29am, 22 Feb 2025

The Middle East is holding its breath as diplomats across the Arab world scramble to defuse the political and humanitarian powder keg that is US President Donald Trump’s shocking proposal to relocate Gaza’s 2.2 million residents and repurpose the razed strip as a glitzy Mediterranean “Riviera” resort.

Widely condemned as a colonialist fantasy and a blueprint for ethnic cleansing, Trump’s plan has nevertheless been enthusiastically embraced by Israel’s far-right government. But the international backlash has been swift, with Arab leaders and Middle East experts warning that such a move could plunge the region into chaos.

“The overwhelming majority of Palestinians would likely not choose voluntarily to leave Gaza even if they could,” said Monica Marks, a professor of Middle East politics at New York University Abu Dhabi. “Many feel they have nothing left to lose now besides their pride, steadfastness, and whatever rubble is left of their homes.”

“Expelling them would be a dirty, excruciating, bloody business, full of insurgency and a non-compliant population,” she told This Week in Asia.

Palestinian Hamas militants stand amid the rubble of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Conventional wisdom among regional analysts is clear: Trump’s proposal is a non-starter. Experts predict fierce Palestinian resistance to any forced relocation, likely triggering yet another blood-soaked military crackdown by Israeli forces.

But the fallout would not stop at Gaza’s borders. Egypt and Jordan, the two countries Trump has identified as potential destinations for displaced Palestinians, have made it clear that hosting millions of Gazan refugees is simply not an option.