[🇧🇩] Israel and Hamas war in Gaza-----Can Bangladesh be a peace broker?

[Saif]

Gaza belongs to its people

US "taking over" Gaza is an outrageous idea

www.thedailystar.net

Gaza belongs to its people
US "taking over" Gaza is an outrageous idea

VISUAL: STAR

The US may no longer be the beacon of hope it once was, but there are still things expected from the country as a global power. Chief among them is a responsibility to uphold basic human rights and international law. This expectation has been tested time and again, but rarely as starkly as it is now, with Donald Trump's alarming plan for Gaza. On Tuesday evening, at a joint news conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US president proposed "long-term ownership" of Gaza by the United States. This came after he repeatedly called in recent days for the war-ravaged territory's 1.2 million residents to be resettled. While officials later tried to walk back the takeover proposal amid fierce criticism, saying any displacement of Gazans would be temporary, Trump on Thursday restated his vision, suggesting his determination to go ahead with it.

For decades, US foreign policy—despite its inconsistencies—has at least paid lip service to a two-state solution for the peaceful coexistence of Israel and Palestine. Trump's approach obliterates that pretence. If implemented, it would not only mean "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza—as the UN chief has rightly called it—but also set an extremely dangerous precedent where stronger powers might feel emboldened to resolve territorial disputes through mass expulsions.

This should send shivers down the spine of anyone who values justice and human rights. For decades, US foreign policy—despite its inconsistencies—has at least paid lip service to a two-state solution for the peaceful coexistence of Israel and Palestine. Trump's approach obliterates that pretence. If implemented, it would not only mean "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza—as the UN chief has rightly called it—but also set an extremely dangerous precedent where stronger powers might feel emboldened to resolve territorial disputes through mass expulsions. It is also deeply insulting for the Gazans after the genocide and devastation they endured at the hands of Israel over the last 15 months. Suggesting that those still alive should be uprooted, cast aside, and scattered across unwilling nations is outrageous, to say the least.

Naturally, Palestinians and Arab states where Trump and Netanyahu want Gazans to be resettled have rejected the proposal. Similarly, the world must also stand firm against this effort to make the suffering of Gazans permanent by robbing them of their homeland. Reportedly, emboldened by Trump, Israel has already instructed its military to formulate a plan for their "voluntary" departures. In other words, a permanent displacement may already be in motion even though they have only recently begun to return to the rubble they once called home following a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. All nations must come forward to prevent this modern-day holocaust.​

 

[Saif]

Can Trump actually 'take over' Gaza?

International laws can't and won't stop him. So then, what can?

www.thedailystar.net

Can Trump actually 'take over' Gaza?

US President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the entrance of the White House in Washington DC, on February 4, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS

Standing beside Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in front of the press in the White House, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, "We will take over Gaza. We will own it." He went on to say that Gaza could become "the Riviera of the Middle East," where the "world's people" would live. His statement aligns with that of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who told an audience at Harvard University last year that Israel should remove civilians while it "cleans up" the Gaza Strip, and that Gaza had very valuable "waterfront property."

Trump's announcement sent shockwaves through the world, including staunch Israeli allies such as Germany. Human rights organisations immediately denounced the proposal as ethnic cleansing of the residents of Gaza, the Palestinians, to neighbouring countries—a plan that was rejected by Jordan and Egypt earlier. Many Democrats, who backed Joe Biden's 15 months of financing the mass murder of approximately 61,000 Palestinians in Gaza, found Trump's plan "insane," and extremely immoral. But, of course, it's morally bankrupt and that's besides the point. To understand Donald Trump's intentions, the man who wrote the book Trump: The Art of the Deal, humanitarian values should be put aside. He views geopolitical relationships and foreign policy as real estate business deals, and realising that can take us closer to understanding whether he actually meant what he said and whether he can, or will, do it.

It's easy to dismiss Trump's remarks as unsurprising White colonisation. It is true that the plan shows a sharp departure from long-standing US policy of symbolic "two-state solution." But it must be noted that we are here today because of decades of double standards of that very US policy in the first place, which unconditionally backed Israeli occupation in Palestinian territories and still talked about "two states" and "peace." Sure, Biden had not suggested a plan so aggressive, but his administration had gone around trying to find an "international coalition" that would temporarily govern Gaza after the war. The fact is, US foreign policy has never intentionally recognised Nakba as a root cause of Palestinian resentment towards Israel, and no government has truly cared about Palestinians' rights to self-determination. US national and geopolitical interests in the Middle East simply lie with strong-arming Israel. One could argue that Trump has replaced "Israel" with "United States" in terms of who will own and govern Palestinian land and Palestinian people.

International law, so to speak, has not really been a force to stop any atrocities in Gaza so far. Israel has openly committed crimes against humanity, and Netanyahu stood in the press conference with the US president despite an arrest warrant against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The US government's invasion of Afghanistan, for example—on the premise of self-defence—did kill innocent civilians, despite claims that it was only targeting terrorists and enemy combatants. The US has ratified both The Hague and Geneva conventions that render unjustified killing of innocent civilians or unnecessary destruction of property as a violation of international law (however, they don't constitute war crimes). Though the country ratified both conventions, it repeatedly violated them in Afghanistan. The US government denied many instances of civilian suffering until The New York Times published declassified records. Despite the documentation, none of the US military officials involved in strikes were held accountable. Only the victims paid the price for the US military's "mistake." We have seen Netanyahu use the phrase "tragic mistake" to refer to the deadly fire in refugee tents in Rafah last year, after images of charcoaled bodies and a beheaded child went viral.

As history is laden with unaccountability, it should be clear that laws will not stop Trump's plan. So then, what can? Geopolitical relationships with the Arab states, and especially, Saudi Arabia, the most powerful US ally in the region.

In 2020, Trump managed to persuade UAE and Bahrain to sign his Abraham Accords. UAE's reservation to signing the deal was Palestinian statehood and the condition was suspension of Israeli settlers' plans to annex the West Bank. Trump hit the middle ground between the Israeli far-right and UAE to score the deal. Trump's transactionalism embedded in his foreign policy that predates his outlandish statements presents a few questions: is the plan a calculated move to tame both Hamas and Israeli far-right? Or is it a negotiating tactic with the Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia? Both are plausible.

For Hamas, Trump's plan applies maximum pressure to give up the control of Gaza and simply maintain a presence there. The flip side of Trump's pressure could be Hamas pulling out of the ceasefire agreement, which jeopardises the Israeli hostages returning, and the second phase of the ceasefire which includes a permanent end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops. The latter holds little meaning now as Trump suggests Palestinians should leave their homeland anyways. Hamas, which has been destabilised, might settle for maintaining some sort of presence of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as it would not be able to endure against US troops. On the other hand, far-right extremist Israelis—specifically those who were unhappy with Netanyahu and threatened to collapse his coalition for the ceasefire deal—positively reacted to Trump's plan. An expulsion of 2.5 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip has been a fantasy of the Israeli far-right, and Netanyahu has faced criticism for not having a "day after Gaza" plan. When Trump made the announcement, Netanyahu seemed incredibly delighted that Trump's idea could reset his own difficult choices in Israel.

Worldwide uproar followed Trump's statement, and Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry was the first to react to the announcement. They affirmed that the nation's position on the establishment of a Palestinian state is "non-negotiable," firm and unwavering with "no compromise," which could presumably refer to the UAE normalisation deal. The statement added that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "clearly and unequivocally reaffirmed this stance."

For the past 15 months of Palestinian slaughter in Gaza, many of the Arab states have been on the sideline, with Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia clamping down on pro-Palestinian protests in their own nations. All these nations have authoritarian governments who view grassroots activism as a threat to their regimes. "Arab states today do not like Palestinian nationalism because Palestinian nationalism is a source of popular mobilisation on the Arab street," according to Nader Hashemi, director of the Prince Alwaleed Center for Christian-Muslim Understanding at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. But in order to keep pro-Palestinian sentiments under control, Arab states have catered to public opinion with token gestures to support Palestine against Israel and succumbing to Trump's plan would fuel public anger.

On the geopolitical front, relations with the US have been a source of security aid and financial assistance for some Arab states, and have prevented them from confronting Israel. For Mohammed bin Salman, eliminating Hamas and Hezbollah, who do not exist in Saudi Arabia, has been in his best interest against archrival Iran to maintain his nation's dominance in the Middle East, and to ensure no politicisation of Islam can topple him in his country. Normalising relationships with Israel, too, is in his interest as it's good for business—an ideology he shares with Trump. Mohammed bin Salman wants deals with the US for security and weapons, and Trump has already talked about asking Saudi Arabia to invest $1 trillion in the US economy and lower oil prices. Here, Trump's Gaza plan puts a spanner in the works. Mohammed bin Salman would be careful so as to not anger his citizens by supporting Trump's plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza. Making compromises could risk his position domestically, while losing deals with the US would not serve him geopolitically.

Egypt, on the other hand, needs US money to exist, and also serves as a lynchpin containing a potential powder keg of radical sentiment that, if detonated, would puncture European and US interests. Jordan, as well, is not only a close ally of the US, but dependent on US aid. Trump has already threatened economic blockades for Jordan, and King Abdullah is scheduled to visit the White House next week. But Egypt and Jordan can avert an economic blow if the wealthy Gulf nations unite against Trump's Gaza plan. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has indicated that Jordan can change its position and accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza.

Whether Trump can coerce Arab States to get what he wants remains to be seen. The US president made the statement with the prime minister of Israel beside him, and to analyse it with a reactionary perspective such as the "madman" theory, as David Remnick of the New Yorker has done, only circulates blame games at those who voted for Trump, believing his campaign promise that the US would end all foreign wars, especially in Gaza. Trump has intentions in saying what he said, and determining what they are is difficult; he is the harbinger of potent unpredictability.

The Trump administration has made it clear that the "Riviera of the Middle East" would not be made with US funds, supposedly expecting Arab states to foot the bill. Trump's proposal to play around with the lives of Palestinians could very well be a far-reaching offer on the table in exchange for normalisation, or Gaza's reconstruction funded by wealthy Gulf nations. If we think of it as a deal, it also means that he could soften his position, and settle for less. He could very well not move forward if Arab states offer concessions acceptable to his geo-economic agendas. Donald Trump does not always follow through. But whether he does usually depends on short-term gains that portray him as the winner and the strongman who is "reviving America" as the sole superpower—in other words, making America great again.

Ramisa Rob is in-charge of Geopolitical Insights at The Daily Star.​

 

[Saif]

GREAT MARCH OF HOPE: Gaza’s defiance against erasure

THE return of one million Palestinians from southern Gaza to the north on January 27 felt as if history was choreographing one of its most earth-shattering events in recent memory.

www.newagebd.net

GREAT MARCH OF HOPE: Gaza’s defiance against erasure
by Ramzy Baroud 08 February, 2025, 00:24

THE return of one million Palestinians from southern Gaza to the north on January 27 felt as if history was choreographing one of its most earth-shattering events in recent memory.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched along a single street, the coastal Rashid street, at the furthest western stretch of Gaza. Though these displaced masses were cut off from each other in massive displacement camps in central Gaza and the Mawasi region further south, they sang the same songs, chanted the same chants, and used the same talking points.

During their forced displacement, they had no electricity and no means of communication, let alone coordination. They were ordinary people, hauling a few items of clothing and whatever survival tools they had following the unprecedented Israeli genocide. They headed north to homes they knew were likely destroyed by the Israeli army. Yet, they remained committed to their march back to their annihilated cities and refugee camps. Many smiled, others sang religious hymns, and some recited national songs and poems.

A little girl offered a news reporter a poem she composed. ‘I am a Palestinian girl, and I am proud,’ her voice blared. She recited simple but emotional verses about identifying as a ‘strong, resilient Palestinian girl.’ She spoke of her relationship with her family and community as the ‘daughter of heroes, the daughter of Gaza,’ declaring that Gazans ‘prefer death over shame.’ Her return to her destroyed home was a ‘day of victory.’

‘Victory’ was a word repeated by virtually everyone interviewed by the media and countless times on social media. While many, including some sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, openly challenged the Gazans’ view of their perceived ‘victory,’ they failed to appreciate the history of Palestine — indeed, the history of all colonised people who wrested their freedom from the claws of foreign, brutal enemies.

‘Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of (someone) armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end,’ iconic anti-apartheid South African leader Nelson Mandela wrote in a letter to his wife in 1975 from his prison cell. His words, written in the context of South Africa’s struggle, feel as if they were written for Palestinians, especially Gaza’s latest triumph against erasure — both physical and psychological.

To understand this better, examine what Israeli political and military leaders said about northern Gaza immediately after the start of the genocidal war on October 7, 2023:

Israel will maintain ‘overall security responsibility’ for the Gaza strip ‘for an indefinite period,’ said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with the ABC News network in November 2023.

One year later, the Israeli army reiterated the same sentiment. In a statement, Israeli Brigadier General Itzik Cohen told Israeli reporters that there would be ‘no return’ for any residents of northern Gaza.

Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich went further. ‘It is possible to create a situation where Gaza’s population will be reduced to half its current size in two years,’ he said on November 26, stating that Israel should re-occupy Gaza and ‘encourage’ the migration of its inhabitants.

Many other Israeli officials and experts repeated the same notion like a predictable chorus. Settler groups held a conference last June to assess real estate opportunities in Gaza. In their minds, they were the only ones with a say over Gaza’s future. Palestinians seemed inconsequential to the wheel of history, controlled, as the powerful arrogantly believed, by Tel Aviv alone.

But the endless mass of people sang, ‘Do you think you can measure up to the free, measure up to the Palestinians?.. We will die before we surrender our home; they call us the freedom fighters.’

Many media outlets, including Israeli ones, reported a sense of shock in Israel as the population returned en masse to a fully destroyed region. The shock does not end there. Israel failed to occupy the north, ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza, or break their collective spirit. Instead, Palestinians emerged stronger, more determined, and, equally frightening for Israel, with a new objective: returning to historic Palestine.

For decades, Israel invested in a singular discourse regarding the internationally recognised Palestinian Right of Return to their homes in historic Palestine. Almost every Israeli leader or top official since the 1948 Nakba (the ‘Catastrophe’ resulting from the destruction of the Palestinian homeland) echoed this. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak summarised it in 2000 during the Camp David negotiations, when he drew his ‘bottom line’ in any peace deal with the Palestinians: there would be no right of return for Palestinian refugees.

As Gaza has proven, Palestinians do not take their cues from Israel or even those who claim to represent them. As they marched north, four generations of Palestinians walked together, at times holding hands, singing for freedom and return — not only to the north but further north to historic Palestine itself.

Since the Nakba, Israel has insisted it will write the history of the land between the Jordan River and the sea. But Palestinians continue to prove Israel wrong. They survived in Gaza despite genocide. They remained. They returned. They emerged with a sense of victory. They are writing their own history, which, despite immeasurable and unimaginable losses, is also a history of hope and victory.

Countercurrents.org, February 7. Dr Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the editor of The Palestine Chronicle.​

 

[Saif]

Trump’s Gaza plan derails Saudi-Israel ties: analysts

US president Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza will imperil attempts to forge landmark ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel and fuel anti-American sentiment in the oil-rich kingdom, analysts said.

www.newagebd.net

Trump’s Gaza plan derails Saudi-Israel ties: analysts
Agence France-Presse . Riyadh 07 February, 2025, 19:08

Pro-Palestinian protesters attend a rally against US President Donald Trump's recent remarks on Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Sydney on February 7, 2025. | AFP photo

US president Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza will imperil attempts to forge landmark ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel and fuel anti-American sentiment in the oil-rich kingdom, analysts said.

Trump’s proposal to redevelop Gaza and oust the more than two million Palestinians living in the territory prompted a global backlash and enraged the Arab world, making it difficult for the Saudis to consider normalisation.

‘If this is going to be his policy, he shut the door on Saudi recognition of Israel,’ James Dorsey, researcher at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore, said.

Recognition of Israel by Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites, is seen as a grand prize of Middle East diplomacy intended to calm chronic tensions in the region.

But Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter and the Middle East’s largest economy, now faces the spectre of instability on its borders if neighbouring Jordan and Egypt suddenly house large numbers of Gaza exiles.

At the same time, Riyadh must maintain cordial relations with Washington, its long-time security guarantor and bulwark against key regional player Iran.

‘When it comes to security, Saudi Arabia has nowhere to go but to Washington,’ Dorsey said. ‘There’s nobody else. It’s not China. They’re not willing and they’re not able.

‘And post-Ukraine, do you want to rely on Russia?’

The Saudis were engaged in tentative talks on normalisation via the United States until the outbreak of the Gaza war, when they paused the negotiations and hardened their position.

They reacted with unusual speed to Trump’s proposal, made during an appearance with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.

About an hour after his comments, at around 4:00am Saudi time, the foreign ministry posted a statement on X that ‘reaffirms its unequivocal rejection of attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land’.

In the same statement, the Saudis rejected Netanyahu’s comment that normalisation was ‘going to happen’, repeating their insistence there would be no ties without a Palestinian state.

Trump’s plan carries real risks for Riyadh, which is throwing everything at an ambitious post-oil economic makeover that relies on stability to attract business and tourism.

If Gazans are displaced to Egypt and Jordan, it ‘will weaken two countries essential to regional stability and particularly to Saudi security’, said Saudi researcher Aziz Alghashian.

‘Trump’s plan, coupled with Netanyahu’s approach, poses major risks for Saudi Arabia.

‘It highlights that they are not true partners for peace in Riyadh’s eyes — especially Netanyahu, who appears to want all the benefits without making concessions.’

Trump’s declarations ‘will further destabilise the region and fuel anti-American sentiment, particularly in Saudi Arabia’, said Anna Jacobs, of the International Crisis Group think tank.

‘He is making Saudi-Israel normalisation harder, not easier.’

Andreas Krieg of King’s College London said Saudi Arabia would not agree meekly to normalisation if ordered by Washington.

Prior to the Gaza war, the Saudis were negotiating for security guarantees and help building a civilian nuclear programme in return for Israeli ties.

‘They are not a US vassal state and so they’re not just taking a diktat from Trump,’ said Andreas Krieg of King’s College London.

‘And I think it will stand firm on their positions, willing to negotiate here and there. But the principal red lines remain.

‘Nobody in Saudi Arabia has an interest in selling out Palestinian statehood. That is the last and the most important bargaining chip that the Saudis have in terms of authority and legitimacy in the Arab and Muslim world.’

But the question is how Saudi Arabia and its 39-year-old de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will proceed.

‘I don’t think that the Saudis will take any major steps now,’ said Krieg.

‘They obviously have their own levers that they can use for pressure on America, particularly in the energy sector. I don’t think the Saudis will want to use it at this point.’​

 

[Saif]

Hostage families urge Israel to complete Gaza truce deal

An Israeli campaign group urged the government on Friday to stick with the Gaza truce ahead of a fifth hostage-prisoner swap, after explosive comments by US president Donald Trump raised questions over the future of the deal.

www.newagebd.net

Hostage families urge Israel to complete Gaza truce deal
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem 08 February, 2025, 01:52

An Israeli campaign group urged the government on Friday to stick with the Gaza truce ahead of a fifth hostage-prisoner swap, after explosive comments by US president Donald Trump raised questions over the future of the deal.

The scheduled exchange on Saturday comes after Trump declared that the United States would ‘take over Gaza’ and move Palestinians out of the territory, sparking uproar across the Middle East and beyond.

Israel has since ordered its military to prepare for the ‘voluntary’ relocation of Gazans, while Hamas has rejected Trump’s plans as ‘absolutely unacceptable’.

‘An entire nation demands to see the hostages return home now is the time to ensure the agreement is completed — until the very last one,’ the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said in a statement on Friday.

Since January 19, Israel and Hamas have completed four swaps as part of the first stage of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Palestinian militants, led by Hamas, have so far freed 18 hostages in exchange for around 600 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.

The fragile ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aims to secure the release of 33 hostages during the first 42-day phase of the agreement.

The fifth swap is scheduled for Saturday, but as of now, neither side has disclosed how many hostages Hamas will release or how many prisoners Israel will free in return.

Amid the uncertainty triggered by Trump’s remarks, Yaela David, whose brother Evyatar is still being held in Gaza, urged ‘the negotiating team to act today to complete the final details of the deal and ensure the return of all hostages’.

‘This must happen under this deal, and if not, there will remain a huge black stain on the history of our state,’ she said.

Despite regional and international backlash — and initial backtracking by members of his administration — Trump has doubled down on his statement.

‘The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,’ he said on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.

‘No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!’

After Trump first floated the idea, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz announced that he had ordered the military to prepare a plan to allow the ‘voluntary departure’ of Gazans from the territory ‘to any country willing to accept them’.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu also voiced support for Trump’s plan, announced at a joint press conference between the two leaders, calling it ‘the first original idea to be raised in years’.

Hamas, however, condemned the remarks as ‘absolutely unacceptable’.

‘Trump’s remarks about Washington taking control of Gaza amount to an open declaration of intent to occupy the territory,’ spokesman Hazem Qassem said.

‘Gaza is for its people and they will not leave.’

Negotiations for the second stage of the ceasefire were set to begin on Monday, but there have been no details on the status of the talks.

The second stage aims to secure the release of more hostages and pave the way for a permanent end to the war, which began on October 7, 2023 with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel.

During the attack, militants took 251 hostages to Gaza. Seventy-six remain in captivity, including 34 whom the Israeli military says are dead.​

 

[Saif]

Gaza belongs to its people

US "taking over" Gaza is an outrageous idea

www.thedailystar.net

Gaza belongs to its people
US "taking over" Gaza is an outrageous idea

VISUAL: STAR

The US may no longer be the beacon of hope it once was, but there are still things expected from the country as a global power. Chief among them is a responsibility to uphold basic human rights and international law. This expectation has been tested time and again, but rarely as starkly as it is now, with Donald Trump's alarming plan for Gaza. On Tuesday evening, at a joint news conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US president proposed "long-term ownership" of Gaza by the United States. This came after he repeatedly called in recent days for the war-ravaged territory's 1.2 million residents to be resettled. While officials later tried to walk back the takeover proposal amid fierce criticism, saying any displacement of Gazans would be temporary, Trump on Thursday restated his vision, suggesting his determination to go ahead with it.

For decades, US foreign policy—despite its inconsistencies—has at least paid lip service to a two-state solution for the peaceful coexistence of Israel and Palestine. Trump's approach obliterates that pretence. If implemented, it would not only mean "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza—as the UN chief has rightly called it—but also set an extremely dangerous precedent where stronger powers might feel emboldened to resolve territorial disputes through mass expulsions.

This should send shivers down the spine of anyone who values justice and human rights. For decades, US foreign policy—despite its inconsistencies—has at least paid lip service to a two-state solution for the peaceful coexistence of Israel and Palestine. Trump's approach obliterates that pretence. If implemented, it would not only mean "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza—as the UN chief has rightly called it—but also set an extremely dangerous precedent where stronger powers might feel emboldened to resolve territorial disputes through mass expulsions. It is also deeply insulting for the Gazans after the genocide and devastation they endured at the hands of Israel over the last 15 months. Suggesting that those still alive should be uprooted, cast aside, and scattered across unwilling nations is outrageous, to say the least.

Naturally, Palestinians and Arab states where Trump and Netanyahu want Gazans to be resettled have rejected the proposal. Similarly, the world must also stand firm against this effort to make the suffering of Gazans permanent by robbing them of their homeland. Reportedly, emboldened by Trump, Israel has already instructed its military to formulate a plan for their "voluntary" departures. In other words, a permanent displacement may already be in motion even though they have only recently begun to return to the rubble they once called home following a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. All nations must come forward to prevent this modern-day holocaust.​

 

[Saif]

Israel strikes Hamas weapons facility in Syria

The Israeli military said it carried out an air strike on Saturday targeting a weapons depot used by Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Syria.

www.newagebd.net

Israel strikes Hamas weapons facility in Syria
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem, Undefined 08 February, 2025, 22:42

The Israeli military said it carried out an air strike on Saturday targeting a weapons depot used by Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Syria.

Israeli ‘fighter jets conducted an intelligence-based strike on a weapons storage facility belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation in the area of Deir Ali in southern Syria’, the military said in a statement.

The army said it would ‘continue to dismantle Hamas’ capabilities on all of its fronts and will operate against all attempts by terrorist organisations to entrench themselves and build up their forces.’

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since its civil war broke out in 2011, mainly on Iranian-linked targets.

Israeli troops also entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights.​

 

[Saif]

Gazans tell Trump they will rebuild their own restaurants and hotels

Palestinians in Gaza say they are determined to rebuild their own seafront restaurants and hotels, dismissing US President Donald Trump's vision of creating a "Riviera of the Middle East" emptied of its population and under US control. Before Israel's 15-month offensive left buildings across Gaza

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Gazans tell Trump they will rebuild their own restaurants and hotels
REUTERS
Published :
Feb 08, 2025 18:14
Updated :
Feb 08, 2025 18:14

Palestinians in Gaza say they are determined to rebuild their own seafront restaurants and hotels, dismissing US President Donald Trump's vision of creating a "Riviera of the Middle East" emptied of its population and under US control.

Before Israel's 15-month offensive left buildings across Gaza in ruins, the densely inhabited Palestinian territory had developed a local tourism scene on its Mediterranean shore despite a long blockade.

"There is nothing that cannot be repaired," said Gaza resident Assad Abu Haseira, pledging to start serving food from the restaurant he owns even before it is rebuilt.

"Trump says he wants to change the restaurants, and he wants to change Gaza and wants to create a new history for Gaza. We remain Arab and the history of Arabs will not be replaced with the history of foreigners."

Other Palestinians share his defiance. Mohammed Abu Haseira, another restaurant owner, said his eatery would become operational again "and much better than before".

"Trump has come up with a decision that he wants to establish restaurants, but the restaurants are here and the hotels are here. Why did you destroy them to establish other ones?" he said.

Gaza was once a popular destination for Israeli tourists and even after the takeover of the territory by the Islamist movement Hamas in 2007, beachside restaurants and cafes lined its seafront.

Trump's vision of a Gaza Strip cleared of its Palestinian inhabitants and redeveloped into an international resort revived an idea previously floated by his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

It triggered condemnation from around the world, with critics saying it would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing and illegal under international law. Gazans were also quick to denounce the scheme, vowing never to leave the ruins of their homes.

For Palestinians, such talk recalls the "Nakba" or catastrophe after the 1948 war around the creation of the state of Israel, when 700,000 fled or were forced from their homes.​

 

[Saif]

Palestinian state in Saudi territory?

Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries yesterday condemned remarks by Israel’s PM who appeared to suggest in an interview that a Palestinian state could be established on Saudi territory.

www.thedailystar.net

Palestinian state in Saudi territory?
Arab nations slam Netanyahu’s ‘racist’ remark

Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries yesterday condemned remarks by Israel's PM who appeared to suggest in an interview that a Palestinian state could be established on Saudi territory.

Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks, which some Israeli media characterised as a joke, came with the region already on edge after US President Donald Trump proposed taking over the territory and displacing Gazans abroad.

Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Sunday that the thinking behind Netanyahu's remarks "is unacceptable and reflects a complete detachment from reality", adding that such ideas "are nothing more than mere fantasies or illusions".

The Saudi foreign ministry stressed its "categorical rejection to such statements that aim to divert attention from the continuous crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian brothers in Gaza".

A ministry statement welcomed "the condemnation, disapproval and total rejection announced by the brotherly countries towards what Benjamin Netanyahu stated regarding the displacement of the Palestinian people".

In a television interview on Thursday, right-wing Israeli journalist Yaakov Bardugo was discussing with Netanyahu the prospect of diplomatic normalisation with Saudi Arabia when he appeared to misspeak, attributing to Riyadh the stance that there would be "no progress without a Saudi state".

"Palestinian state?" Netanyahu corrected him.

"Unless you want the Palestinian state to be in Saudi Arabia," the Israeli premier quipped. "They (the Saudis) have plenty of territory."

Netanyahu went on to describe the talks leading up to the so-called Abraham Accords, in which several Arab countries normalised ties with Israel, concluding: "I think we should allow this process to take its course."

In another interview with Fox News aired late Saturday as the premier was wrapping up a visit to Washington, Netanyahu defended Trump's proposal, which has sparked concern and condemnation across the Middle East and the world.

"I think that President Trump's proposal is the first fresh idea in years, and it has the potential to change everything in Gaza," Netanyahu said, adding that it represents a "correct approach" to the future of the Palestinian territory.

"All Trump is saying, 'I want to open the gate and give them an option to relocate temporarily while we rebuild the place physically'," Netanyahu said.

Trump "never said he wants American troops to do the job. Guess what? We'll do the job," Netanyahu declared.

Israel seized the Gaza Strip in 1967 and maintained a military presence in the territory until 2005, when it pulled out settlers and its troops.

But the suggestion of a state for Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank prompted an outpouring of regional condemnation, including from Qatar, Egypt and the Palestinian foreign ministry, which described the remarks as "racist".

Jordan's foreign ministry condemned them as "inflammatory and a clear violation of international law", stressing that the Palestinians have the "right to establish an independent, sovereign state" alongside Israel.

The foreign ministry of the UAE denounced Netanyahu's comments as "reprehensible and provocative" in a statement, calling them "a blatant violation of international law and the United Nations charter".

For Palestinians, any attempt to force them out of Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the "Nakba" or catastrophe -- the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's creation in 1948.

In its statement, Saudi said "this extremist, occupying mentality does not understand what the Palestinian land means" to Palestinians. Such a mindset, it added, "does not think that the Palestinian people deserve to live in the first place, as it has completely destroyed the Gaza Strip" and killed tens of thousands "without the slightest human feeling or moral responsibility".​

 

[Saif]

Palestinians back on key Gaza road

A long line of cars, tuk-tuks, small lorries and carts stretched along Gaza’s Salaheddin Road on Sunday after Israel withdrew its forces from a strategic area bisecting the territory...

www.newagebd.net

Palestinians back on key Gaza road
Agence France-Presse . Gaza City 10 February, 2025, 00:46

Displaced Palestinians inspect the damage to their home in Gaza City’s southern al Zeitoun neighbourhood on Sunday. | AFP photo

A long line of cars, tuk-tuks, small lorries and carts stretched along Gaza’s Salaheddin Road on Sunday after Israel withdrew its forces from a strategic area bisecting the territory.

The traffic crawled slowly along the road, where mounds of earth had been piled high by now-departed Israeli bulldozers, into the eastern part of the Netzarim Corridor, which separates the northern Gaza Strip from its south.

After more than 15 months of war, a fragile truce with Hamas that went into effect last month saw Israeli forces limiting their presence in the Gaza Strip.

The Netzarim Corridor and Salaheddin Road reopened fully on Sunday, enabled by the Israeli withdrawal following the completion of a fifth hostage-prisoner exchange the day before as part of the truce deal.

Among the vehicles wending their way along the dusty dirt road were lorries piled high with household belongings, blankets, carpets and furniture.

Finally able to move around the area, many Palestinians returned to their homes to find them destroyed in the fighting.

‘What we saw was a catastrophe, horrific destruction. The (Israeli) occupation destroyed all the homes, shops, farms, mosques, universities and the courthouse,’ said Osama Abu Kamil, a resident of Al-Maghraqa just north of Netzarim.

The 57-year-old said he had been displaced by the war for more than a year, living in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Now back to the north, Abu Kamil said he ‘will set up a tent for me and my family next to the rubble of our house. We have no choice.’

He said that as displaced Gazans in makeshift shelters, they had ‘lived through severe suffering’.

‘Life in Gaza is worse than hell.’

The war, sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel in October 2023, saw the Israeli military relentlessly bombarding Gaza, leaving much of the already impoverished territory in ruins.

More than 48,000 people have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, and over 90 per cent of Palestinians there have been displaced at least once, according to the United Nations.

The violence has largely halted, but the population has been left drained and traumatised by the violence.

Mahmoud al-Sarhi, a resident of Zeitun neighbourhood near the Netzarim Corridor, said that Sunday was ‘the first time I saw our destroyed house’.

‘Arriving at the Netzarim Corridor meant death — until this morning,’ said the 44-year-old.

While the Israeli forces have left, Sarhi said he still did not feel safe.

‘The entire area is in ruins. I cannot live here. Israeli tanks can invade at any time. The area is unfit for normal living. It is very dangerous.’

The scale of the destruction was visible on Al-Shuhada Street, which also crosses the Netzarim Corridor, with dozens of houses and some university buildings reduced to rubble.

In some places, the road itself had been damaged in the fighting, with large craters visible.

Workers had begun repairing some of the road.

Mohamed Ali, 20, travelling from Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, said conditions on the roads were ‘difficult because of the amount of destruction and bombing’.

‘God willing, the road will be better again,’ he said.​

 

[Saif]

Hamas, Israel complete 5th hostage, prisoner swap

Israel and Hamas completed their fifth hostage-prisoner swap under a fragile Gaza ceasefire deal on Saturday, with the frail, disoriented appearance of the three freed Israelis sparking dismay among their relatives.

www.newagebd.net

Hamas, Israel complete 5th hostage, prisoner swap
Agence France-Presse . Deir el-Balah, Palestinian Territories 09 February, 2025, 01:06

| AFP photo

Israel and Hamas completed their fifth hostage-prisoner swap under a fragile Gaza ceasefire deal on Saturday, with the frail, disoriented appearance of the three freed Israelis sparking dismay among their relatives.

Out of the 183 inmates released by Israel in return, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said seven required hospitalisation, decrying ‘brutality’ and mistreatment in jail.

The fifth exchange since the truce took effect last month comes as negotiations are set to begin on the next phase of the ceasefire, which should pave the way for a permanent end to the war.

Saturday’s swap also follows remarks by president Donald Trump suggesting the United States should take over the Gaza Strip and clear out its inhabitants, sparking global outrage.

Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi, who were all seized by militants during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war, ‘crossed the border into Israeli territory’ on Saturday, the Israeli military said.

With their return, 73 out of 251 hostages taken during the attack now remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Jubilant crowds in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv cheered as they watched live footage of the three hostages, flanked by masked gunmen, brought on stage in Deir el-Balah before being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

But the joy at their release was quickly overtaken by concern for their condition, with all three appearing thin and pale.

Sharabi’s cousin Yochi Sardinayof said ‘he doesn’t look well’.

‘I’m sure he will now receive the right treatment and he will get stronger... He has an amazing family, and we will all be there for him.’

The choreographed handover included forced statements from the three on stage, in which they stated support for finalising the next phases of the Israel-Hamas truce.

The ‘disturbing images’ from Gaza show that ‘we must get them all out’, said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group.

The office of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose dejected-looking portrait appeared on a banner at the Deir el-Balah handover site, said the images out of Gaza were ‘shocking’.

Israel’s president Isaac Herzog denounced the treatment of the hostages, who were paraded on stage ‘after 491 days of hell, starved, emaciated and pained” and “exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle’.

Sharabi, 52, and Ben Ami, a 56-year-old dual German citizen, were both abducted from their homes in kibbutz Beeri when militants stormed the small community near the Gaza border.

Sharabi lost his wife and two daughters in the attack.

Levy was abducted from the Nova music festival, where gunmen murdered his wife.

In the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian authority, relatives and supporters gathered to welcome inmates released by Israel, embracing them and cheering as they stepped off the bus that brought them from nearby Ofer prison.

Israel’s prison service said that ‘183 terrorists... were released’ to the West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem and Gaza.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group and the Palestinian Red Crescent said that seven of them had been admitted to hospital in the West Bank.

‘All the prisoners who were released today [Saturday] are in need of medical care... as a result of the brutality they were subjected’ to in jail, said the advocacy group, which has long decried abuses of Palestinians in Israeli custody.

Hamas in a statement accused Israel of ‘systematic assaults and mistreatment of our prisoners’, calling it ‘part of the policy of... the slow killing of prisoners’.

Gaza militants have so far freed 21 hostages in exchange for hundreds of mostly Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.

Five Thai hostages freed last week from Gaza were discharged on Saturday from a hospital in central Israel, where they had been treated since their release, and were headed back to their home country.

The ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aims to secure the release of 12 more hostages during its first 42-day phase.

Negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire were set to begin on Monday, but there have been no details on the status of the talks.

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government on Friday to stick with the truce, even as Trump’s comments raised questions about the future of the deal.

‘An entire nation demands to see the hostages return home,’ the Israeli campaign group said in a statement.

‘Now is the time to ensure the agreement is completed—until the very last one,’ it added.

Netanyahu’s office said that after Saturday’s swap, an Israeli delegation would head to Doha for further talks.

Hama’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliation has killed at least 48,181 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.​

 

[Saif]

No right of return for Palestinians under Gaza plan: Trump

President Donald Trump said Palestinians would have no right of return to Gaza under his US takeover plan, describing his proposal in excerpts of an interview released Monday as a ‘real estate development for the future.’..

www.newagebd.net

No right of return for Palestinians under Gaza plan: Trump
Agence France-Presse . Washington 11 February, 2025, 01:06

A man pushes a tricycle cart loaded with mattresses and other belongings through a drenched section of the Wadi Gaza bridge along al-Rashid street between Gaza City and Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on Monday as displaced people return home amid the current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. | AFP photo

President Donald Trump said Palestinians would have no right of return to Gaza under his US takeover plan, describing his proposal in excerpts of an interview released Monday as a ‘real estate development for the future.’

Trump told Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier that ‘I would own it’ and that there could be as many as six different sites for Palestinians to live outside Gaza — under the plan which the Arab world has rejected.

‘No, they wouldn’t, because they’re going to have much better housing,’ Trump said when Baier asked if the Palestinians would have the right to return to the war-battered enclave.

‘In other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them because if they have to return now, it’ll be years before you could ever — it’s not habitable.’

Trump first revealed the shock Gaza plan during a joint news conference with visiting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, drawing outrage from Palestinians.

The US president pressed his case for Palestinians to be moved out of Gaza, devastated by the Israel-Hamas war, and for Egypt and Jordan to take them.

In the Fox interview — which will be broadcast Monday after the first half was screened ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday — Trump said he would build ‘beautiful communities’ for the more than two million Palestinians who live in Gaza.

‘Could be five, six, could be two. But we’ll build safe communities, a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is,’ added Trump.

‘In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent.’​

 

[Saif]

Israel says to resume Gaza fighting if hostages not freed Saturday

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the premier to "open the gates of hell" if Israel doesn't get back "all the hostages... by Saturday".

www.thedailystar.net

Israel says to resume Gaza fighting if hostages not freed Saturday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu/Reuters

Israel threatened Tuesday to resume "intense fighting" in Gaza if hostages were not released this weekend, while Hamas insisted it remained committed to the ceasefire deal and accused Israel of violations.

Under the terms of the truce, which has largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, captives were to be released in batches in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. So far, Israel and Hamas have completed five hostage-prisoner swaps.

But the deal has come under increasing strain in recent days, prompting diplomatic efforts to salvage it and Hamas to say it was "committed to the ceasefire".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF (Israeli military) will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated".

His threat echoed that of US President Donald Trump who said on Monday that "hell" would break loose if Hamas failed to release "all" Israeli hostages by Saturday.

The president proposed taking over Gaza and removing its more than two million residents.

"If all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday 12 o'clock... I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out," Trump said.

He reaffirmed his deadline while hosting Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday.

King Abdullah said on social media he "reiterated Jordan's steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians", adding it was "the unified Arab position".

Senior Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump's remark "further complicates matters".

"Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties," he told AFP.

Egypt, a US ally which borders Gaza, said Tuesday it plans to "present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction" of the Palestinian territory which ensures residents remain on their land.

'Gates of hell'

Hamas has said it would postpone the next hostage release, scheduled for Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the deal and calling for it to fulfil its obligations.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Hamas to proceed with the planned release and "avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza".

Yemen's Huthi rebels, who are aligned with Hamas and have attacked Israel throughout the war in support of the Palestinians, said they were "ready to launch a military intervention at any time in case of escalation against Gaza".

Netanyahu did not specify whether he was referring to all captives, but his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the premier to "open the gates of hell" if Israel doesn't get back "all the hostages... by Saturday".

The far-right politician demanded the "full occupation of the Gaza Strip" and an end to all humanitarian aid.

The Israeli military said it has reinforced its troops, while hostage families rallied outside Netanyahu's office in support of the ceasefire.

"There is a deal. Go for it!" said Zahiro, whose uncle Avraham Munder died in captivity.

In Gaza, resident Adnan Qassem was praying "the ceasefire holds".

"The ruling faction in Israel wants war, and I believe there is also a faction within Hamas that wants war," said the 60-year-old from Deir el-Balah.

'Humanitarian catastrophe'

Trump's latest threat came hours after Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said the hostage release scheduled for Saturday was postponed.

It accused Israel of failing to meet its commitments under the agreement, including on aid, and cited the deaths of three Gazans at the weekend.

But the group said "the door remains open" for the release to go ahead "once the occupation complies".

The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

Militants also took 251 hostages, of whom 73 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the war has killed at least 48,219 people in the territory, figures the UN considers reliable.

A UN report issued on Tuesday said that more than $53 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza and end the "humanitarian catastrophe" in the devastated territory.​

 

[Saif]

Trump insists US to own Gaza, Jordan king pushes back

US leader stunned the world when he announced a proposal last week for the United States to "take over" Gaza

www.thedailystar.net

Trump insists US to own Gaza, Jordan king pushes back

US President Donald Trump (R) meets with King Abdullah II of Jordan during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 11, 2025. Photo: AFP

President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his idea of exiling Palestinians and placing a rebuilt Gaza under "US authority," but faced pushback from visiting Jordanian King Abdullah II.

"I reiterated Jordan's steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all," Abdullah said on social media after the talks.

However, he told Trump that Egypt was working on a plan for how countries in the region could "work" with Trump on his shock proposal.

The Jordanian monarch also appeared to offer a sweetener to Trump, who the day before the visit floated the possibility of halting US aid to Jordan if it did not take in refugees.

"One of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state. That is possible," Abdullah said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.

Trump replied that it was "really a beautiful gesture" and said he didn't know about it before the Jordanian monarch's arrival at the White House.

The US leader stunned the world when he announced a proposal last week for the United States to "take over" Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East" -- but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them ever to return.

Abdullah urged patience and said that Egypt was coming up with a response and that Arab nations would then discuss it at talks in Riyadh.

"Let's wait until the Egyptians can come and present it to the president and not get ahead of ourselves," Abdullah said.

Trump retreated from his previous talk of an aid halt to Jordan and Egypt, saying: "I don't have to threaten that. I do believe we're above that."

The Egyptian foreign ministry later said it plans to "present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction" of the Gaza Strip that ensures Palestinians remain on their land.

It said Egypt "hopes to cooperate" with Trump's administration on the matter, with the goal of "reaching a fair settlement of the Palestinian cause".

'Tough guy'

Trump, however, kept pushing his plan to "own" Gaza and place it under "US authority," despite the fact that it is home to more than two million Palestinians who want their own sovereign state.

"We don't have to buy. We're going to have Gaza," Trump said.

"We're going to take it, we're going to hold it, we're going to cherish it."

But Trump, who made his fortune as a real estate tycoon did however deny that he would seek to personally develop property in Gaza. "No. I've had a great career in real estate," he said.

The meeting came as the Gaza ceasefire appears increasingly fragile, after Trump warned on Monday that "all hell" would break out if Hamas fails to release all hostages by Saturday.

Trump said he doubted that the Palestinian militant group would abide by the ultimatum -- but played down the risk of a longer threat to efforts to create a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas.

"It's not going to take a long time," Trump said. "A bully is the weakest person, and they're bullies. Hamas is bullies."

King Abdullah is a key US ally but last week rejected "any attempts" to take control of the Palestinian territories and displace its people.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is expected to visit the White House later this week, urged on Tuesday the reconstruction of Gaza "without displacing Palestinians."

Analysts say the issue is an existential one for Jordan in particular.

Half of Jordan's population of 11 million is of Palestinian origin, and since the establishment of Israel in 1948, many Palestinians have sought refuge there.

But Jordan is also keenly aware of the economic pressure Trump could exercise. Every year, Jordan receives around $750 million in economic assistance from Washington and another $350 million in military aid.

On social media after the Trump talks, Abdullah stressed that his "foremost commitment is to Jordan, to its stability and to the well-being of Jordanians."​

 

[Saif]

Houthi warns of military action if Gaza ceasefire fails

Yemen's Houthi leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, has warned that his group is prepared to resume military operations against Israel if it breaches the Gaza ceasefire. In a televised address, al-Houthi emphasized the need for Arab and Islamic unity against US policies in the region and condemned any p

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Houthi warns of military action if Gaza ceasefire fails
FE ONLINE DESK
Published :
Feb 12, 2025 12:22
Updated :
Feb 12, 2025 12:22

Yemen's Houthi leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, has warned that his group is prepared to resume military operations against Israel if it breaches the Gaza ceasefire.

In a televised address, al-Houthi emphasized the need for Arab and Islamic unity against US policies in the region and condemned any plans to displace Palestinians.

"The current stage must be a stage of Arab and Islamic unity," and criticized "American madness through the plan to displace the people of Gaza," he said on Tuesday.

He urged Arab nations to reject US influence, declaring, "This is an opportunity for the Arab countries to say 'No to America' and to get out of the house of American obedience."

The Houthi movement, which controls large swathes of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, has previously targeted vessels in the Red Sea, actions it describes as solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas conflict, reports Xinhua.

The 42-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on Jan. 19, with Israel agreeing to withdraw its forces from the area.

As the truce reaches its midpoint, negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States aim to determine whether it will continue into a second phase, potentially involving the release of more hostages and Palestinian detainees.​