United States President Donald Trump's proposal to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to neighboring countries has been widely rejected and condemned.
The forced displacement of 2.3 million Gazans to Egypt and Jordan could destabilize the region and destroy any chance of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, experts say.
But the proposal could also shift the onus to US allies in the region to come up with a solution to one of the world's most complex conflicts, experts say.
"Trump is taking the most extreme position on an extremely sensitive issue as part of a broader negotiation on Gaza and Israel," said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at the British think tank Chatham House.
"By putting pressure on key US allies, who are truly dependent on American aid and security, he hopes to achieve his goal of burden-sharing," Vakil said.
Washington has for decades supported a two-state solution that would create an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
But progress has been hampered by deep differences between Israelis and Palestinians over borders, settlements and the status of Jerusalem.
The Palestinians also insist that any future Palestinian state must include the Gaza Strip, which makes Trump's proposal troubling not only to critics but also to US allies, including Germany.
"Trump has yet to articulate a clear vision for a two-state solution or a way forward in the Israel-Palestine conflict, but if US policy leans toward displacing Palestinians from Gaza, it suggests limited room for positive progress on this issue," said Gregory Brew, senior analyst at the US policy analysis group Eurasia Group.
Many of Gaza's residents have been displaced and much of the Palestinian enclave has been destroyed in Israel's 15-month war against Hamas, a group designated a terrorist organization by the US and EU. The conflict was sparked by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.
The fighting was suspended for six weeks as part of a multi-phase ceasefire agreement reached on January 15, which envisions a permanent end to the war and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Trump, who announced his idea on January 25, said the potential relocation of Gaza residents "could be temporary, it could be long-term."
Eldad Shavit, a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said the Israeli far right widely supports the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza because it believes "Israel can occupy the territory and build new settlements."
Trump has said he has shared his ideas with Jordan and Egypt, US allies in the region that receive significant aid. But both countries oppose any efforts to force the displacement of civilians.
Shavit said it is "not reasonable" to expect Jordan and Egypt to accept this proposal, because they already host millions of Palestinians displaced by the creation of Israel in 1948 and the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict.
He argued that further refugee admission "would be a major risk to the stability of these countries."
Experts say that displacing Gazans and, consequently, destroying the prospect of an independent Palestinian state, could also hinder efforts to normalize relations between Israel and regional power Saudi Arabia.
"I don't see it as something that will be received positively in the Gulf, especially in Saudi Arabia, where [Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] has made the creation of a Palestinian state a condition for normalizing relations with Israel," Brew said.
Several Arab states have normalized relations with Israel under the US-brokered Abraham Accords in recent years.
Strong opposition to Trump's plan among Washington's allies and Arab states proves that its implementation is impossible, experts say.
"I think we have to be careful not to read too much into Trump's comments, which were made in an impromptu manner," Brew argued.
Trump likes to "think big" and he and his advisers may try to "change the status quo" by pushing parties in the region to take responsibility for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Shavit said.
"He wants to sway the parties in a way that forces them to think about a solution they can accept," he said.
Trump has long criticized the US's long military commitments and advocated reducing US financial commitments abroad. During his inaugural address on January 20, he described himself as a "peacemaker . "
"Trump wants a new Middle East; he wants the Saudis to join the Abraham Accords and he wants to be seen as someone who brought peace and got a Nobel Prize for it," Shavit said./REL (A2 Televizion)
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