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The likelihood US President Donald Trump will see his Gaza plan through is slim, but does it have any standing from an international legal perspective?
ADVERTISEMENTUS President Donald Trump sparked global controversy when he said the US would “take over the Gaza Strip” last week, stating he wished to turn the territory into a “Riviera of the Middle East.” Trump made those remarks during a press conference held alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the latter branding the idea “revolutionary” and “creative”. Trump has since doubled down on the idea, despite multiple attempts by members of his administration to walk back his comments. The likelihood Trump will see his plan through is slim, however, but does it have any standing from an international legal perspective? Forcible deportation: a crime against humanity”If hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly expelled and transferred outside their own territory that would amount to deportation,” Olivier Corten, Professor of International Law at the Université de Bruxelles, told Euronews. When asked what part of the Palestinian population he would want to move out of Gaza, Trump replied “all of them” – a statement in clear breach of international law. Forcible deportation of a population is a crime against humanity and prohibited by multiple provisions of the Geneva Convention, as well as the International Criminal Court. “Taking control of one part of a state’s territory without the consent or agreement of that state would amount to an occupation. If force is used, it becomes an aggression,” added Corten. Trump’s highly controversial remarks come weeks after Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a fragile ceasefire and hostage deal, but what the agreement between the two sides lacked is a clear plan on who will govern Gaza in the future. The ceasefire deal also does not state when the Israeli blockade on the movement of people and goods will be lifted, as the following phases have yet to be negotiated. The Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal came under increasing strain on Monday, when Hamas announced that the release of hostages would be delayed, accusing Israel of repeatedly violating the agreement.Threatening Palestine’s territorial integrityDonald Trump also said that Palestinians “have no alternative” but to leave the “big pile of rubble” that is Gaza. However, according to international law, detaching any part of the Gaza Strip from Palestinian territory contradicts the principle of “territorial integrity.” Palestinian territorial integrity is a long-running issue. In July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s continuing presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories was unlawful.Although the United States does not recognise Palestine as permanent observer state, the United Nations does. The UN has repeatedly called for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, which it says has been ongoing since 1967. Since Hamas killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 during its attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, the intense Israeli bombardment of Gaza that followed has killed at least 47,000.When pressed on his plan’s timeline, Trump said he envisioned “long-term” US ownership of a redevelopment of Gaza, while refusing to rule out the deployment of US troops to support its reconstruction. ADVERTISEMENTIn a press statement, UN experts stated that “such blatant violations by a major power would break the global taboo on military aggression and embolden other predatory countries to seize foreign territories, with devastating consequences for peace and human rights globally.” “Such violations would replace the international rule of law and the stability it brings with the lawless ‘rule of the strongest,'” they added.Forcing states to host Palestinians”The only thing that could be in line with international law would be US aid for the reconstruction of Gaza. This would be an agreement that inhabitants would be temporarily housed a little further away, but that’s not what we’re talking about at all,” Corten told Euronews. Trump’s brash statements have received a strong backlash from leaders in the Middle East and North Africa. He further aggravated tensions on Monday by suggesting that US funding should be withheld from Jordan and Egypt in order to persuade them to accept additional Palestinians from Gaza.ADVERTISEMENTMeanwhile, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Arab states firmly rejected Trump’s plans. On Tuesday, Jordan’s King Abdullah travelled to the White House Tuesday to speak with Trump face to face. “No country seems to want to welcome these hundreds of thousands or even millions of people onto their territory. Forcing states to host Palestinians would obviously be contrary to the sovereignty of these states,” said Corten. An estimated 2.2 million Palestinians are believed to live in Jordan, which has a total population of 12 million. Egypt – which has a population of around 113 million – is estimated to have 100,000 Palestinians living within its borders. Although Trump is unlikely to enact his Gaza plan, a response would be warranted under international law if he were to do so.ADVERTISEMENTPotential provisions include military and non-military sanctions. “It is hard to imagine force being used against the United States. But in any case, trying to free Gaza from US occupation would be in line with international law”, Corten explained.
