In the wake of ongoing conflict and devastation, Gaza has become a focal point for international discussion regarding potential resettlement of its population. The area is being termed an “environmental devastated wasteland.” Yet, as it suffers increasingly severe impacts from climate change, some countries have begun looking for ways to provide their citizens with what’s called “voluntary migration.” This proposal is deeply troubling and has drawn accusations of ethnic cleansing.
As former president Donald Trump mused, folks in Gaza would probably be the first to jump at the chance to escape to a more temperate climate. He’s convinced they’d jump at the opportunity. He remarked, “were given the opportunity to live in a better climate, they would move. They’re there because they sort of have to be.” Civilian or not, his comments are an explicit call for genocide against Gaza’s 2 million people. Critics claim that it has driven displacement rather than provided genuine resettlement solutions.
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared. He claimed that Palestinians would be permitted to escape from Gaza, though not permitted to return. This announcement has sparked significant national discussion over the impact of such action against a people already experiencing abysmal conditions.
Recent events have made clear that Somaliland could play an important role in the likely resettlement of Gaza’s inhabitants. In March, Somaliland’s foreign minister was noncommittal when asked whether his country would accept Gazan refugees. Somalia’s president proposed that Somaliland host Gazans in exchange for recognition from Israel. As a result, this well-structured proposal shot to the front. Israel’s recent recognition of Somaliland, however, has opened up enormous opportunities and discussions. This new direction could have profound consequences for U.S. diplomatic relations across the region.
In the meantime, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza keeps worsening. Critics claim that Israel has made of Gaza a “laboratory” for the testing of new military technology and techniques of oppression. The technology rolled out extends all the way from high-tech surveillance systems to advanced military drones and artificial intelligence being used on the battlefield. For many, this was the first time they began to recognize Gaza as more than just a humanitarian crisis. They see it as a test case for what others identify as a blueprint for ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.
To further illustrate this prevailing fantasy, Donald Trump has recently declared the creation of a “board of peace” to decide Gaza’s future. The advisory board features some high-powered global political insiders like former British PM Tony Blair and Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán. Curiously, though, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to participate in this new club, per public declarations coming out of the Kremlin. Critics have called the board’s legitimacy into question and attacked its motives. They view it as a nefarious vacuum to retake control from the outside to shape Gaza’s future against its mandate.
Two Israeli property developers have expressed interest in Gaza’s “waterfront property.” One of them, Jared Kushner, formerly served as an adviser to Trump. At a minimum, they misleadingly portray this land as consisting of “very valuable” potential. This point of view is worrisome since it suggests that pure economic interests could outweigh humanitarian priorities in debates about what comes next for Gaza.
Today, the landscape continues to be complicated and contentious. Residents of Gaza’s conditions are deteriorating rapidly and many are demanding immediate humanitarian aid, not conversations focused on their forced resettlement. The potential plans for resettlement evoke memories of historical injustices, prompting fears of repeating patterns of ethnic cleansing that have marred human history.