Why many Israelis embrace a Trump plan for Gaza once seen as taboo
| Tel Aviv, Israel
When President Donald Trump vowed to empty Gaza of its population and turn it into a 鈥淩iviera of the Middle East鈥� under U.S. control, even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, standing next to him at the White House, looked stunned by the announcement.
Since then, amid unnerving ultimatums on the release of hostages and a resumption of fighting in Gaza, the president has doubled down on the bombshell idea, despite accusations it would constitute a war crime.
In Israel, the idea of uprooting Palestinians 鈥� here known as 鈥渢ransfer鈥� 鈥� was once an almost taboo word associated with what鈥檚 known as 鈥渆thnic cleansing,鈥� most commonly raised by figures on the far right.
Why We Wrote This
President Donald Trump鈥檚 plan to take over Gaza and expel its residents was received in an Israel exhausted by conflict and lacking a government 鈥渄ay after鈥� plan of its own. Many hailed its activism, while others saw a dangerous fantasy.
It鈥檚 now been dubbed by some here as 鈥淭rumpsfer鈥� and, according to polls, appears to be gaining broad public support 鈥� especially when floated as Palestinians in Gaza choosing 鈥渧oluntarily鈥� to move from the ruined coastal enclave.
The Trump plan was received in an Israel exhausted by conflicts with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran; still traumatized by the Oct. 7, 2023, attack; and lacking a government 鈥渄ay after鈥� plan for Gaza, which is still ruled by Hamas despite the army鈥檚 crushing offensive.
鈥淓very Israeli, barring the most delusional ones on the outer reaches of the left, ought to welcome this initiative,鈥� wrote Ben Caspit, an influential, mainstream columnist, in the Maariv newspaper.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa鈥檃r welcomed Mr. Trump鈥檚 comments in the Knesset this week.
鈥淲e must try to find a different solution, a new approach,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is what the U.S. president is trying to do, and we can only welcome it.
鈥淎s long as migration happens by an individual鈥檚 free will, regardless of the location in the world, and as long as there is a country willing to accept that person, can anyone claim it is immoral?鈥� he said.
A Channel 12 poll aired last Friday found 69% of Israelis said they backed Mr. Trump鈥檚 proposal to 鈥渆vacuate鈥� Gaza鈥檚 residents, with supporters of Mr. Netanyahu鈥檚 right-wing coalition polling highest. A poll by the Jewish People Policy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, found about 80% of Jewish Israelis support the idea that residents of Gaza 鈥渟hould relocate to another country.鈥� Some 30% of those surveyed called the plan 鈥渘ot practical, but desirable.鈥�
鈥淢agic solutions鈥�
Michael Milshtein, a professor of Middle East history at Tel Aviv University, says he is concerned that Israeli politicians, both in and out of government, are failing to tell people the truth about the idea鈥檚 moral and practical dangers.
Not only does the proposal endanger the current ceasefire, he says, but it could put Israel鈥檚 very security at dire risk by destabilizing neighboring Egypt and Jordan, with whom Israel has peace treaties.
Mr. Trump is trying to strong-arm the two into taking in 2 million Gaza refugees, threatening to withdraw foreign aid if they don鈥檛.
鈥淲e would all want magic solutions that solve the situation in Gaza if they were actually realistic,鈥� says Professor Milshtein. 鈥淏ut this is expulsion; it is not about relocation. I am not sure even Israeli government members are aware of the damage already caused and that will be caused between us and the Arab world because of it. ... I am deeply concerned by this fantasy.鈥�
Analysts have also been warning that it is not Israel鈥檚 interest to have thousands of Gaza Palestinians, among them likely to be Hamas militants, along the country鈥檚 borders with Egypt and Jordan.
Israelis are living in 鈥渓a-la land,鈥� Professor Milshtein says, if they think that after the wars of 1948 and 1967, which displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, the deaths of 47,000 Gazans in this war might diminish their longing for a homeland.
American activism
Lianne Pollak-David, co-founder of the centrist and a former adviser in the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office, says Israeli mainstream support for the plan is a reflection of there being 鈥渘o better, concrete idea on the table.鈥�
鈥淭he Israeli public wants to see the U.S. forging a bold and proactive policy for the future of Gaza,鈥� she says.
That said, she adds, 鈥淭he vast majority of the public understands it is not realistic to drive away 2 million Gazans somewhere else. But there is a sense of an initial relief that the new administration wants to put their skin in the game, taking responsibility.
鈥淎cting a little like the new sheriff in town implies the kind of activism Israelis want to see from the U.S. administration in the region. I think it is more about that sentiment rather than, 鈥楾his is a great plan and we support it.鈥欌��
The idea of voluntary evacuation helps shift the conversation, says Sara Eisen, a marketing executive who lives in central Israel.
鈥淚 see it more as forcing the Palestinians and their supporters to choose a narrative,鈥� she says. 鈥淣o more both ways. If you are indeed refugees, relocating is a great deal 鈥� much more humane than the resumption of war. If Gaza is your beautiful home and you can鈥檛 leave it, then build it and stop trying to 鈥榬eturn鈥� to or destroy Israel. Stop supporting and enabling Hamas, which has made your lives miserable and uses you as pawns.
鈥淭his new idea,鈥� she adds, 鈥渁s crazy as it sounds, provides a way for the end of Hamas rule that does not include the death of their human shields and in fact commits those that wish to live in peace a way forward.鈥�
Dahlia Scheindlin, a pollster and expert in Israeli public opinion, suggests the vocal embrace of Mr. Trump鈥檚 Gaza idea is not necessarily new. She cites a 2016 Pew Research poll that found 48% of Jewish Israelis in favor of a broader question in support of Arabs being 鈥渆xpelled or transferred鈥� from the country.
Aluf Benn, editor of the left-wing Haaretz newspaper, writes that the support reflects a mainstream drift toward the once-marginal ideas of the followers of the late far-right Rabbi Meir Kahane, whose party was outlawed as racist.
鈥淭heir ideas did not go away, and a generation and a half later, they鈥檝e arrived in the mainstream, which still hides behind hypocritical arguments such as 鈥榟umanitarian concern for the Palestinians,鈥� or 鈥榳e鈥檝e already tried everything and the conflict has not been resolved; perhaps it鈥檚 time for another solution,鈥欌�� he writes. 鈥淭he demon of ethnic cleansing that ... was in hiding until now, will be hard to put back in the bottle.鈥�
