Hamas has condemned a reported plan by Donald Trump to place
Gaza under US control and forcibly relocate its population, calling it a
violation of rights.
Bassem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, stressed on Monday that "Gaza is not for sale." The larger Palestinian homeland includes Gaza.
His comments coincided with The Washington Post's Sunday story that it had acquired a 38-page prospectus detailing a proposal to turn the Gaza Strip into a high-tech hub and tourist destination under US trusteeship for at least ten years.
The report stated that the more than two million residents of Gaza would at the very least be temporarily moved, either into restricted areas within the enclave or by "voluntary" emigration to other nations.
Trump publicly declared in February that he wanted to turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The resistance movement "rejects all these plans that abandon our people and keep the occupier on our land," a second Hamas official, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.
Such plans, they added, were "worthless and unjust," adding that Hamas had not been informed of any specifics of the plan.
A 37-year-old Palestinian named Qasem Habib, who lives in a tent in Gaza City's al-Rimal district, denounced the rumored plan as "nonsense."
“If they want to help Gaza, the way is known: pressure (Israeli prime minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to stop the war and the killing.”
Another Gazan, 60-year-old Wael Azzam, who is living in the al-Mawasi area near the southern city of Khan Yunis, said he had not “heard of the new American plan, but even without knowing it, it is a failed plan.”
“We were born and raised here,”
he added, questioning whether Trump would accept displacement from his own home.
Israel is moving forward with its plan to take the whole Gaza Strip, beginning with Gaza City, the region's main city, according to the Washington Post story.
After Netanyahu met with his so-called "security cabinet" late on Sunday to consider launching a fresh offensive to occupy Gaza City, Israel sent tanks farther into the city on Monday.
The regime's military also pushed outdated armored vehicles into the eastern sections of the congested Sheikh Radwan area, where they remotely detonated them, damaging multiple homes and forcing more families to flee, according to Palestinian officials and witnesses.
Airstrikes have killed at least 50 Palestinians since Monday morning. Numerous bombings in residential areas of Gaza City have destroyed homes and killed civilians.
After Palestinian resistance forces carried out the unexpected Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the Zionist entity in reaction to the regime's decades-long campaign of death and devastation against Palestinians, Israel began a genocidal attack on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
How might $5,000 payments influence Gazans' decision to relocate long term?
The payment of $5,000, along with four years of free rent
and a year's supply of food, may provide immediate financial relief and support
for families facing dire economic conditions, which could motivate some to
accept relocation offers temporarily or permanently.
However, for many Gazans, displacement involves profound loss of home, community, and heritage. Financial incentives may not outweigh emotional, social, and political attachments to the land, especially under conditions of coercion or ongoing conflict.
Given the dire humanitarian situation, many Gazans lack access to substantial funds, and the proposal's cash components might not reflect true free choice, but rather choices made under duress or lack of alternatives.