Trump calls to ‘clean out’ Gaza, greenlights 2,000-pound US bombs for Israel

Just as the second phase of the prisoner–hostage exchange between Hamas and Israel, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), is concluded per the ongoing ceasefire agreement between the two parties, America's new president Donald Trump has practically escalated the call for an ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the IDF on Saturday, 25 January, shot dead a Palestinian youth and injured several others in and around al-Nuseirat refugee camp as they tried to return to their homes in central Gaza — ostensibly because they intruded into the forbidden Nitzarim corridor.

The second phase of the exchange saw 200 Palestinian prisoners and four Israeli hostages released, bringing some relief to families affected by the conflict on both sides — but given the broader context of ongoing Israel–Hamas negotiations for the further phases of the ceasefire and the fraught history of Zionist expansionism into Palestine, the situation remains fragile.

Amid which, having the US president — Israel's foremost ally and logistical support — calling for Jordan and Lebanon to take in Palestinians and facilitate a 'clean out' of Gaza, would be risible were it not so irresponsible.

For one thing, these are mere talking points that have been hashed over several times — to no avail. None of the Arabic nations in West Asia are keen to take in the Palestinians of Gaza: what would be the advantage of doing so, except to further Israel’s aim of displacement and territorial takeover — especially remembering that Lebanon, for one (along with Syria), is intimately familiar with losing its territorial integrity to an occupying Zionist force out of what the UN had originally mandated for Israel.

Meanwhile, Trump has also instructed the US military to lift the hold placed by predecessor Joe Biden on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel policy.

While all of this went forward, Trump on Saturday, 26 January told us he'd like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip — potentially moving out enough of the population to “just clean out” the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate.

During a 20-minute question-and-answer session with reporters aboard Air Force One, he said he has shared his vision on a call earlier in the day with King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak Sunday, 26 January, with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt.

“I'd like him to take people. I'd like Egypt to take people,” said Trump. “You're talking about, probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, 'You know, it's over.'”

Trump apparently complimented Abdullah II for accepting some Palestinians and told the king, “I'm looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it's a mess. It's a real mess.”

He said this mass movement of Palestinians, “it could be temporary or long term”, recalling for many the hair-raising Nakba of 1948.

“Something has to happen," Trump said. “It's literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything's demolished, and people are dying there.” His solution: “So, I'd rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change.”

Both Trump and Biden have maintained strong support for Israel, even as human rights advocates and international critics have raised concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, exacerbated by Israel's military actions against Hamas. Despite protests calling for an arms embargo on Israel, the US has continued to supply military aid — with minimal effort (or ineffectual attempts) to rein in its excesses, while vetoing all attempts in the UNSC to sanction Israel for human rights violations or 'over the rules of war'.

Of course, we can't quite say the US is alone in interpreting 'never again' as 'never again stand against a Jewish nation, no matter what they decide to do'.

This too is curious. For while the US seems to urge on Netanyahu, appeals from families of Israelis still held in Gaza have called for President Trump to intervene, especially to encourage prime minister Netanyahu to end the war and prioritise the return of the hostages instead.

For Benjamin Netanyahu, his comments that Israel may return to the war at any time exposes the pressure from hard-liners in his coalition government. There have been threats from his coalition partners to bring down the government if he doesn’t resume the war — for some in Israel, military action remains a non-negotiable priority, regardless of the humanitarian costs.

This complicates any efforts toward peace or further hostages' releases, as negotiations could be overshadowed by the demands for military action and the desire to “win” the conflict — or to ship out of the administration.

As for the current tranche of Jewish 'hostages', the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency said in a joint statement that four female Israeli soldier held in Gaza were transferred to them and crossed the border into Israel.

Some independent voices and a very few media outlets have wondered why Israel's people — even active military personnel — are termed 'hostages' while Palestinians who may be women and children with no specific charge brought against them are 'prisoners', implying an incarceration for reasons of justice with some proof or at least suspicion of significant wrongdoing...

But for the present, Abdullah Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, as well as Palestinian officials in the Ramallah governorate said 200 Palestinian prisoners were handed over to the ICRC. Some were released into the West Bank, some bound for Gaza and some arrived in Egypt via the Rafah crossing, according to Palestinian sources and Egyptian media reports.

The continuation of the six-week ceasefire, which began on 19 January, is cast into considerable doubt, meanwhile, with the following statement from the PM's office: ‘During the execution of the second phase of the swap yesterday, Hamas committed two violations. Arbel Yehoud, a civilian hostage who was scheduled for release on Saturday, has not been freed, and the detailed list of all hostages’ statuses has not been provided.’

Hamas, of course, can and does justifiably point to Israel stopping Palestinians from returning to the north of Gaza and killing them off instead — contrary to the terms of the ceasefire again.

This ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel was reached after 15 months of intense fighting, as a result of negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the US. The next phase is being negotiated.

With PTI and IANS inputs