Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said that his country "categorically rejects" US President Donald Trump's plan to seize the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians from it.

"No one should enter into a discussion of where the Palestinians, especially the people of Gaza, should go. The people of Gaza themselves have closed this discussion," Albares told state radio RNE on Thursday.

He added: "We categorically reject this matter... The land of the Palestinians who live in Gaza is Gaza."

He explained that "Gaza is part of the future of the State of Palestine," stressing that "this is what most of the world believes, including Spain and about 150 countries that recognize the State of Palestine."

On Tuesday evening, Trump revealed during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House his intention to seize the Gaza Strip and displace the Palestinians from it, which sparked widespread regional and international rejection.

Since January 25, Trump has been promoting a plan to transfer the Palestinians of Gaza to neighboring countries such as Egypt and Jordan, which was rejected by both countries, and was joined by other Arab countries and regional and international organizations.

On January 19, a ceasefire agreement began in the Gaza Strip and a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel. It includes three stages, each lasting 42 days. During the first, negotiations will be held to start the second and third, with the mediation of Egypt and Qatar and the support of the United States.

With American support, between October 7, 2023 and January 19, 2025, Israel committed genocide in Gaza, leaving more than 159,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 14,000 missing.

US President Donald Trump said billions of dollars have been stolen from USAID and other institutions.

This came in statements he made on the Truth Social platform on Thursday, following the circulation of news that Politico newspaper had recently received nearly $8 million in payments from various federal institutions.

Trump criticized the media for reporting that he received funding from US federal institutions.

“It appears that billions of dollars have been stolen from USAID and other institutions, most of which has gone to pay off fake news media outlets to produce stories that flatter Democrats,” he added.

The US President described the matter as "the biggest scandal in history," stressing that "the Democrats will not be able to evade this matter."

It is noteworthy that controversy erupted in the country after American billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Foundation for Government Efficiency, claimed that the administration of former Democratic President Joe Biden was funding some media institutions.

Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, stressed the "need to accelerate relief efforts and rebuild the Gaza Strip to block the displacement plan." Aboul Gheit and Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed Mustafa agreed, after their meeting in Cairo on Thursday, that the Palestinian people will not allow a repetition of the "Nakba."

The meeting between Aboul Gheit and Mustafa at the headquarters of the Arab League coincided with Arab and international rejection of US President Donald Trump’s statements regarding the “displacement” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and “US control over the Strip.”

The meeting discussed “the current Palestinian situation in light of the threats facing the cause, especially the displacement scenario, which is rejected by Arabs and internationally,” according to an official statement by the official spokesman for the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Jamal Rushdi.

Rushdi said, "Both Abu al-Gheit and Mustafa stressed the Arab consensus on rejecting any infringement on the constants of the Palestinian cause, the most important of which is the people remaining on their land and not being deprived of their right to self-determination."

During the meeting, the Palestinian Prime Minister presented the Palestinian Authority’s plans and programs to deal with “the catastrophic situation in Gaza in order to implement urgent relief and early recovery, in preparation for reconstruction.” Aboul Gheit stressed that “the plans are feasible while the Palestinian people remain on their land, and what is required at this stage is to consolidate the ceasefire, work to bring in urgent relief aid, and help the population gradually restore normal life in order to thwart the Israeli plan to make the Strip uninhabitable.”

The meeting between Abu al-Gheit and Mustafa touched on “the recent statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding what he called the voluntary exit of the population from the Gaza Strip,” where it was noted that they “clearly reveal the nature of the Israeli plan and its goals,” and the emphasis that “the Palestinian people will not allow the Nakba to be repeated a second time under the pretext of voluntary or forced exit,” according to Rushdi.

In turn, the Palestinian Prime Minister stressed, in a press conference following the meeting, that “the Palestinian Authority looks forward to working with the General Secretariat of the Arab League and the member states in the next phase, with the aim of overcoming the challenges,” noting that he informed Aboul Gheit of “the political and practical moves undertaken by the Palestinian Authority to confront the challenges, especially at the political level.”

He said: “Despite the worrying political and security situation in the Strip, we are working seriously in the government to provide relief to the people and prepare for reconstruction as soon as possible in cooperation with partners.”

Palestine's permanent representative to the Arab League, Ambassador Muhannad Al-Aklouk, explained in press statements following the meeting that the Palestinian Prime Minister presented to the Secretary-General "the most practical ways to provide relief to the residents of the Gaza Strip, bring in sufficient aid, implement the government's plan to assume governance responsibilities in the Strip, provide relief to the people, provide shelter, and everything that would help the people to remain on their land."

He said, "The plan includes early recovery for 6 months, then economic recovery for 3 years, and finally reconstruction for 10 years."

Al-Aklouk praised the positions of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, which reject “displacement”, pointing out that “efforts are now directed towards supporting and strengthening the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land and providing them with the means of life.” He said: “The Palestinian people will not emigrate, will not leave and will not pay attention to any displacement plans.”

The meeting also addressed “the necessity of consolidating the ceasefire in Gaza, and agreeing on the second and third stages of the truce, in addition to the political horizon and the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders,” according to Al-Aklouk.

The General Secretariat of the Arab League stressed in a statement on Wednesday that “the constants of the Palestinian cause remain the subject of complete Arab consensus that is beyond doubt, and that the most important of these constants is the Palestinian people obtaining their legitimate rights to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

While the General Secretariat expressed its “confidence in the desire of the United States and its President to achieve just peace in the region,” it stressed that “the proposal that Trump spoke about involves promoting a scenario of displacing the Palestinians, which is rejected by Arabs and internationally, and violates international law,” and said that “this proposal represents a recipe for instability and does not contribute to achieving the two-state solution, which represents the only way to establish peace and security between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and in the region as a whole.”

Jared Kushner was involved in drafting US President Donald Trump's plan for the US to "take over" Gaza, which involves the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian citizens, the online news site Puck reported.

According to the site, which describes itself as a meeting place for “Wall Street and Silicon Valley” news, Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, helped prepare the president’s shocking remarks Tuesday night during his press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Kushner, who has a long history of friendship with Netanyahu, served as an adviser to President Trump during his first term and was involved in negotiating the normalization agreements, deals that sought regional integration for Israel without resolving the issue of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

Kushner, who has no official position in the current White House, said last year that Gaza's waterfront property could be "very valuable" and said Palestinians should be kept out of the area, at least temporarily.

“The waterfront real estate in Gaza could be very valuable if people focus on building livelihoods,” Kushner said. “It’s a bit of an unfortunate situation there, but I think from Israel’s perspective, I would do my best to get people out and then clean up the place… But I don’t think Israel has said they don’t want people to come back there after that.”

It is noteworthy that although Gaza City is one of the oldest cities in the world, the Gaza Strip did not exist until the mid-twentieth century. It was created as a direct result of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of those areas of British Mandate Palestine that became the State of Israel.

The Nakba began in late 1947 at the hands of Zionist terrorist militias, and continued at the hands of the Israeli occupation army until the early 1950s. The Nakba saw the forcible expulsion of some 200,000 Palestinians, many of them from the larger Gaza Strip, into a rectangular strip in the southwestern corner of Palestine, comprising only one percent of the territory of the former British Mandate.

Once home to 80,000 Palestinians, Gaza has more than tripled in size, almost overnight. The sudden shift has produced a humanitarian crisis rivaled only by the current one, and is also a direct result of Israeli policy.

President Trump has not ruled out sending US troops to Gaza if "necessary."

Palestinian Red Crescent crews evacuated an elderly man (80 years old) from Jenin camp this evening, Thursday.

The Red Crescent explained that its crews were able to evacuate an elderly man from inside Jenin camp, where communications had been cut off for 17 days. His health condition is good and he was transferred to the hospital.

The occupation continues its aggression on the governorates of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Tubas for more than two weeks, leaving 29 martyrs, dozens of injuries, arrests, the demolition of homes, forced displacement, and widespread destruction of property and infrastructure.

Since the beginning of the aggression, the occupation has imposed arbitrary measures at its military checkpoints near most of the entrances and exits of the governorates in the West Bank, and closed most of the gates of villages and towns, in an attempt to explode the situation, in preparation for creating a state of violent chaos, to facilitate the annexation of the West Bank, which was evident in the brutal attacks committed by terrorist settler gangs against citizens, their towns, their properties, their homes, their lands, and their holy sites.

A citizen was killed today, Thursday, by an Israeli sniper in the middle of the Gaza Strip.

According to local sources, the victim Suleiman al-Ghoul was killed by snipers in the al-Maghraqa area, and his body arrived at the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.

Serious repercussions on the humanitarian situation and the agreement between the two parties

Israel refuses to allow heavy equipment and trucks to remove rubble in first phase

And prevents the entry of Turkish aid into the Gaza Strip...

Informed sources revealed to Al-Quds that the Israeli occupation army received clear instructions from the political level not to bring any aid provided by Turkey into the Gaza Strip. The sources also confirmed that the instructions include not bringing in bulldozers, trucks and cranes needed to remove the rubble in the first phase, which increases the suffering of the displaced.

deteriorating humanitarian situation

These policies are exacerbating the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where displaced people are suffering from severe shortages of basic necessities such as food, water and health care. The situation in Gaza requires an urgent response from the international community to alleviate the suffering.

According to the sources, the occupation authorities are violating the agreement signed through Egyptian and Qatari mediators, which stipulates the entry of heavy equipment needed to remove rubble, such as bulldozers, trucks and cranes, from the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip. This refusal is hampering efforts to remove rubble resulting from the widespread destruction caused by Israeli military attacks, which destroyed more than 80% of citizens’ homes in the Gaza Strip.

The impact of rejection on the displaced

This unjustified Israeli refusal affects the lives of thousands of Palestinian families who are still displaced, as they cannot return to their homes due to the rubble and destruction. The lack of equipment to remove the rubble hinders the reconstruction process and increases the suffering of the residents who lost their homes.

Rejection of Turkish aid

Regarding the humanitarian aid provided by the Turkish government, sources confirmed that the Israeli government also refuses to allow the entry of Turkish aid intended for the displaced residents of the Gaza Strip. This aid includes essential food and relief supplies, which further exacerbates the humanitarian situation in the Strip.

Humanitarian implications

These policies contribute to the exacerbation of the humanitarian crises, as the displaced suffer from severe shortages of basic materials. The cold weather conditions and heavy rains further aggravate the situation. The deteriorating humanitarian situation requires an immediate response from the international community to pressure the Israeli occupation to allow the entry of humanitarian equipment and aid.

The impact of rejection on negotiations with Hamas

This refusal complicates the agreements with Hamas, which accuses Israel of deliberately delaying essential humanitarian aid. The displaced are suffering from severe shortages of shelter, food and health care, which increases the psychological and social pressures on the population.

This negligence also affects the lives of thousands of Gazans and contributes to the spread of diseases and the increase in poverty and unemployment rates. The occupation’s denial of the agreement complicates the negotiations that are still in their early stages, as the refusal to allow the entry of aid and equipment negatively affects the negotiations between the Israeli occupation and Hamas.

Calls for international pressure

In this context, Hamas, through its spokesman, Hazem Qassem, confirmed that Israel is deliberately delaying and obstructing the entry of the most important requirements of tents and fuel. Hamas also called on mediators via its official Telegram page to address the defect in implementing the humanitarian protocol in the Gaza agreement.

UN Statements

UNICEF spokeswoman Tess Ingram said the aid being brought in was "a drop in the ocean of needs" in Gaza. She stressed the need to lift restrictions on aid trucks entering the Strip, noting that the humanitarian situation remains dangerous for children despite the ceasefire.

Displaced persons movement

The United Nations revealed that more than 545,000 Palestinians crossed from southern Gaza to northern Gaza during the past week, since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric also reported that more than 36,000 people moved from northern Gaza to the south during the same period, and they need everything, especially heavy equipment to remove rubble, open roads and recover bodies from under the rubble.

Future steps

In the same context, military circles and Hebrew media outlets warned against the entry of heavy Egyptian bulldozers on their way to the Rafah crossing in order to help remove the rubble and debris left by the war on Gaza. Channel 10 of Israeli television explained that within the framework of the Israeli surrender deal, Hamas is expected to receive five heavy equipment for the first time that will be brought into Gaza via Egypt.

Military circles and Hebrew media outlets warned against the entry of heavy Egyptian bulldozers on their way to enter the Rafah crossing in order to help remove the rubble and debris left behind by the war on Gaza.

Channel 10 of Israeli television said in a report titled: "Shovels from the model that destroyed the fence on October 7 will rebuild the Gaza Strip" that within the framework of the Israeli surrender deal, Hamas is expected to receive five heavy pieces for the first time that will be brought into Gaza via Egypt.

Egypt explained that these bulldozers will be operated by an Egyptian team that will enter the sector and provide the sector with the necessary equipment to remove the rubble.

An official Palestinian source in the Gaza Strip said that, according to the agreement signed with the mediators, five heavy bulldozers are expected to enter the Gaza Strip for the first time, to help lift the huge buildings and concrete piled up in many areas, especially in the northern Gaza Strip.

According to a report broadcast by Elior Levy on Kan 11, the aim of this move is to remove rubble and repair roads as part of the efforts to rebuild the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli official said: "The heavy trucks were supposed to enter in the first stage and be actually transferred to Gaza, but they will be operated by an Egyptian team that will enter and exit the Strip daily." But the Israeli government changed its position.

The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip requires an urgent response from the international community to pressure the Israeli occupation to allow the entry of aid from all countries, including Turkey, and heavy equipment needed to remove the rubble as soon as possible. The continuation of these Israeli policies will exacerbate the humanitarian crises and increase the suffering of the population in the devastated Strip.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested 12 young men from the town of Tamoun, south of Tubas, including a nurse, coinciding with the continuation of the aggression on the town and the Far’a camp, for the fifth consecutive day.

The director of the Prisoners Club in Tubas, Kamal Bani Odeh, said that the occupation forces arrested the citizens Yassin Abdul Fattah Madraj Ibrahim, Muhammad Omar Mustafa Bani Odeh, Mustafa Ali Mahmoud Abu Rayhan, Ayham Jawdat Khader Yousef Bani Odeh, Muhammad Imad Khaled Hassan Bani Odeh, Saher Abdul Rahim Abu Hassan, and Aws Ibrahim Sidqi Basharat from inside an ambulance, as well as Hamdan Jamil Bani Odeh, Izz al-Din Jamil Bani Odeh, Muhammad Abdul Rahim Muhammad Latif, Yazan Abdul Rahim Muhammad Latif, and Mustafa Muhammad Bani Odeh, after raiding their homes in the town.

He added that the occupation had caused significant destruction and devastation to the contents of those homes.

The Israeli aggression on the town of Tamoun and the Far'a camp, south of Tubas, continues, which included the destruction of infrastructure, citizens' property and roads, closing them with earth mounds, and destroying water lines for domestic and agricultural use.

US President Donald Trump said that "Israel will hand over the Gaza Strip to the United States after the fighting ends," noting that "the Palestinians will be resettled in safer and more beautiful areas within the region," as part of the plan he is promoting to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza and for his country to control the Strip.

“Palestinians, and people like Chuck Schumer, will have new, modern homes in safer, more beautiful communities in the region, where they will have a chance to be happy, safe, and free,” Trump said, referring to Senate Majority Leader Schumer, who has criticized Israeli policies in Gaza.

Trump continued, in a post on his social media platform (Truth Social), that the United States, "in cooperation with global development teams," will gradually begin building a project that will be "one of the greatest and most magnificent projects of its kind on the face of the Earth," claiming that the plan will provide "stability to the region" without the need to deploy American troops.

He concluded by saying: "There will be no need for American soldiers! Stability will prevail in the region!!!" He said that the construction and reconstruction process, which he had confirmed that the United States would not contribute to, would be carried out "slowly and carefully", and he considered that this would allow the Gazans "the opportunity to actually live happily, safely and freely" outside the Gaza Strip.

Trump's proposals regarding the future of the Gaza Strip have sparked widespread criticism, as his proposals violate the basic principles of international law, whether in relation to controlling territory by force, the forced displacement of Palestinians, or depriving them of the right of return.

Trump had announced that “the United States will take control of the Gaza Strip and will assume long-term ownership of it,” which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law, which prohibits the seizure of territory by force, as an act of aggression according to the United Nations Charter.

International law affirms that Gaza is part of the occupied Palestinian territories, and Israel has no legal right to transfer it to anyone, including the United States. Any attempt to declare American sovereignty over the Strip could be classified as an illegal annexation, which could expose those responsible to legal prosecution before the International Criminal Court.

Trump spoke of “resettling Palestinians to safer communities in the region,” which would constitute a crime against humanity under the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the forcible transfer of populations under occupation.

International laws confirm that “forced displacement is not limited to direct force, but includes the threat of violence, coercion, and exploitation of a coercive environment,” which means that any plan that forces Gaza residents to leave under any circumstances may be classified as an international crime.

Trump said he “does not envision the return of Gazans after they leave,” speaking of their “permanent” resettlement, which would violate international legal principles that guarantee the right of displaced persons to return to their lands; later, officials in his administration issued statements contradicting him, speaking of a “temporary transfer” of Gazans.

International law prohibits any action that permanently depopulates occupied territory, as this constitutes a form of ethnic cleansing. Any attempt to prevent Palestinians from returning could also nullify the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state, which is contrary to UN resolutions on the right to self-determination.

Israeli writer Uri Masaf said in the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz that there will be no "deportation" from Gaza, and the Americans will not build a "Riviera" there, there is no plan, no preparatory work, no point, and no one will receive two million Palestinians on his land. We are not in the days of World War II, Trump is babbling meaninglessly, this is his style. He has suggested in the past building hotels in North Korea instead of nuclear missiles.

The writer added that since his election, he has talked about invading Panama, seizing Greenland, and annexing Canada. We are old enough to remember how he once said during a meeting with Netanyahu about annexing the West Bank to "Israel."

"It is an insult to intelligence to take Trump's random statements seriously. He is completely mentally unstable, and we live in an era of accelerating decline. It is true that Netanyahu is also a psychopath without a conscience, but he is not stupid. Even he froze in discomfort when Trump began raving about evacuating Gaza, while Netanyahu was heaping embarrassing praise on him," he continued. "It is sad to see very large parts of the Israeli media cooperating with this farce, and engaging in discussions at the level of a seventh-grade social studies lesson, about deportation - for or against. Even before the moral dimension, this basically reflects superficiality and intellectual laziness. It is very easy to manipulate them. And here Trump and Netanyahu are already experts: a continuous media bombardment with empty talk about things that will never happen - tomorrow, Trump will not even remember what he was talking about."

Sourc: Sama News

An Israeli writer published an article in which he explained the reasons behind US President Donald Trump’s launch of his plan regarding the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli writer Uriel Daskal said in an article on the Hebrew website “Walla” that everyone is talking today about Donald Trump’s proposal to seize Gaza and transfer 1.8 million Palestinians, but the truth is that this is exactly what Trump wants: to divert attention from what is happening in Washington.

He explains that everything is going according to the plan of Steve Bannon, Trump’s former advisor, who described his media strategy as “shooting at the fastest rate,” as he said: “Since the media is made up of stupid people, they can only focus on one thing, so we have to drown them with a torrent of exciting news, and they will lose control of what is really important.. Bang, bang, bang, and they will not recover.”

The Israeli writer continues that this is why Trump throws out unrealistic proposals such as buying Greenland, occupying Panama, and moving Palestinians there, because he knows that the media will be preoccupied with these headlines, instead of focusing on the radical changes taking place within the US federal government.

He explains that while the media is preoccupied with Trump’s vision for Gaza, in Washington, a systematic and rapid dismantling of the US government and intelligence agencies is taking place.

He says that over the past two weeks, Elon Musk and his team have taken control of US financial data systems, canceled sensitive security protocols, fired senior officials, and shut down an entire government agency with a budget equal to only 0.25% of Musk’s personal wealth.

He explains that in return, six government agencies have resorted to the courts, which have issued arrest warrants against Musk and Trump, but that has not stopped the ambitious billionaire’s plan, who continues to dismantle federal institutions, driven by his new libertarian ideology and his quest to increase his power and wealth in an unprecedented way.

Israeli writer Uriel Daskal warns that one of the most dangerous developments is the attack on US intelligence agencies. The Trump administration has sent emails to all FBI and CIA employees, offering them compensation in exchange for resignation, in a move aimed at weakening the security services.

He continues that the matter does not stop there, as Trump is now demanding that the identities of federal agents who investigated the storming of Congress on January 6, 2021 be revealed, putting them and their families at grave risk, according to court orders trying to stop this.

He points out that even within the White House itself, there are officials who do not know what Musk will do next. The New York Times quoted internal sources as saying that Musk enjoys a level of independence that no one can control, which makes him the de facto president, while Trump provides him with political cover.

Daskal stresses that what is happening today in Washington is not just a political conflict, but a radical restructuring of the US government, which may affect not only the future of the United States, but also global security, including Israel. He concludes that if Trump and Musk pursue their extreme vision, the world will face a new era of political chaos, where large corporations control countries and governments are dismantled in favor of the wealthiest few.

Source: Sama News

In an article in the Washington Post, American writer David Ignatius described President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza as resembling the actions of a "real estate developer in a Chinese store."

Ignatius considered the plan to represent direct incitement in a region still recovering from the effects of successive wars.

Angry responses

Ignatius confirmed that the response to Trump's plan was noisy, as "small protests" spread in Jordan in rejection of the proposal. He pointed out that Saudi Arabia and the Emirates were quick to issue official statements categorically rejecting the plan, in an indication of the extent of the tension that the proposal has caused in Arab capitals.

Ignatius quoted an official in a group that monitors extremist activity on the Internet, saying that an organization called "Islamic Cyber Resistance" circulated calls to launch cyber attacks on American banks in protest of Trump's announcement; reflecting the growing anger and opening the door to global security risks.

Urgent Diplomatic Moves

According to the article, the presidents of Egypt and Jordan have been “summoned” to meet Trump in Washington next week. Ignatius noted that regional leaders are “fearful” of the proposal’s implications, especially in light of the growing threats.

He pointed out that their concerns are not limited to foreign relations, but extend to the risk of internal unrest that could erupt as a result of attempts to expel Palestinians to their lands.

“The unrest could reach Israel”

An intelligence official who has worked in the Middle East for decades warned that Trump’s plan could cause major unrest in Egypt and Jordan, with the possibility of this tension spreading to Israel itself.

He stressed that such a scenario could lead to a new violent uprising in the West Bank and on Israel’s borders, asking, “Why would we deport Hamas to countries that are vital to Israel’s security?”

Egyptian warning

Ignatius revealed a message from a source close to Egyptian intelligence stating that if Palestinians are forcibly displaced to Sinai, Egypt will take military action. He pointed out that Egypt had already begun, since last May, to strengthen its military presence in Sinai.

Ignatius quoted an informed Arab source as saying that Trump had raised the idea of transferring Palestinians from Gaza during a meeting with a Gulf leader last September. In contrast, a source close to Jordanian officials revealed - according to the article - that Jordan had tried to obtain information about the proposal, but the US State Department and the National Security Council were unable to provide any clarifications because they were not informed of the details.

Ignatius pointed out that CIA officials abroad had not received any prior warning about this plan, which reflects a state of confusion within the US administration itself, as he described it.

Source: Washington Post

The Palestinian Prisoners Club said that the Israeli occupation arrested and detained 174 citizens from the Jenin and Tubas governorates since the beginning of the recent aggression on the two governorates.

The Prisoners Club explained in a statement issued today, Thursday, that the number of detainees and those who were detained in Jenin and its camp over the course of 17 days of aggression is no less than 120, while in Tubas Governorate, the number of arrests reached 54, most of them in the town of Tamoun.

He pointed out that dozens of citizens in the two governorates were subjected to field investigation, noting that the majority of detainees were subjected to severe beatings and systematic abuse.

The occupation continues its aggression on the governorates of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Tubas for more than two weeks, leaving 29 martyrs, dozens of injuries, arrests, the demolition of homes, forced displacement, and widespread destruction of property and infrastructure.

Since the beginning of the aggression, the occupation has imposed arbitrary measures at its military checkpoints near most of the entrances and exits of the governorates in the West Bank, and closed most of the gates of villages and towns, in an attempt to explode the situation, in preparation for creating a state of violent chaos, to facilitate the annexation of the West Bank, which was evident in the brutal attacks committed by terrorist settler gangs against citizens, their towns, their properties, their homes, their lands, and their holy sites.

February 6, 2025, Ramallah, Palestine

Arab Palestinian Investment Company convened its extraordinary general assembly on Thursday, February 6, 2025, in Ramallah, Palestine. The meeting was chaired by Chairman and CEO  Tarek Aggad, and attended by members of the company’s Board of Directors, representatives from the Ministry of National Economy, the Palestine Capital Market Authority, the legal counsel of the company and many of its shareholders.

In its meeting, the general assembly ratified the resolution of the Board of Directors to increase the company’s authorized capital by USD 35 million, from USD 125 million to USD 160 million. The general assembly also approved and ratified the resolution of the Board of Directors to increase the company’s subscribed capital by USD 30 million through a secondary public offering to the company’s shareholders of record as of the date of the meeting of the extraordinary general assembly at an issuance price of one US dollar per share which represents the nominal value of each share.

In his remarks, Aggad explained that the capital increase aims to strengthen the company’s financial base, solidify its balance sheet, and expand its ability to capture new ventures, accelerate subsidiaries’ growth, stabilize cash flows, and fulfill financial commitments with greater resilience.

About APIC

APIC is a public shareholding investment company listed on the Palestine Exchange (PEX: APIC). It holds diversified investments across the manufacturing, trade, distribution and service sectors in Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Turkey through its group of subsidiaries: Siniora Food Industries Company; Unipal General Trading Company; Palestine Automobile Company; Medical Supplies and Services Company; National Aluminum and Profiles Company (NAPCO); Reema Hygienic Paper Company; Sky Advertising and  Promotion Company; Arab Leasing Company and Arab Palestinian Storage and Cooling Company, employing over 3200 staff through its group of subsidiaries. For more information, visit www.apic.ps

The Israeli General Security Service (Shabak) claimed on Thursday that it had thwarted a bombing attack targeting a passenger bus in occupied Jerusalem, saying the operation was planned by a cell of Fatah and Hamas activists from the Ramallah area.

The Shin Bet claimed that the cell members were about to smuggle an explosive device into Israel, and said that members of the cell carried out shooting attacks, noting that the arrests took place during the months of November and December.

The Shin Bet said in a statement that its forces arrested "a cell of five people from the Ramallah area," and announced that the detainees in the alleged cell are: Ahmed Jasser Ali, Mandar Sheikh Qassem, Bashir Awad, Omar Subuh, and Ali Shuwaiki.

He added that the investigation with the detainees revealed that they planned to detonate a remote-controlled explosive device "inside Israel", against the backdrop of the war on Gaza. He claimed that some members of the cell carried out shooting operations targeting the occupation forces during the past year, without resulting in injuries.

The Shin Bet claimed that the investigation with Ahmed Jasser Ali revealed that he, along with members of the cell, manufactured an explosive device with the aim of carrying out a bombing operation on a bus in Jerusalem.

He claimed that the detainees had handed over an explosive device and weapons, including a Carlo rifle, which were intended for testing the remote detonation mechanism.

The statement indicated that indictments were filed against the detainees on charges related to "membership and activity in an illegal organization," "shooting at people," "preparing to carry out premeditated murders," "possession of weapons," and "attempting to manufacture weapons."

1. The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported today, Thursday, that 31 dead and 4 injuries were received by the hospitals in the Strip during the past 24 hours.
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It explained in a statement that 28 cases were recovered, one victim succumbed to his injuries, and two new dead.

It pointed out that the death toll from the Israeli aggression has risen to 47,583 dead and 111,633 injuries since October 7, 2023.

The Israeli army admitted, on Thursday, the conviction of a reserve soldier for committing brutal acts of abuse against Palestinian prisoners while serving as a guard in the "Sde Teiman" military command. Despite this, the Israeli judiciary issued a lenient sentence against the soldier, sentencing him to no more than 7 months in prison.

The Israeli army said in a statement that the soldier admitted to physically assaulting Palestinian prisoners held in the detention facility set up by the occupation army at the "Sde Teiman" base on several occasions, despite their hands being tied and blindfolded.

According to the Israeli army statement, the soldier beat the detainees with punches and used his weapon to assault them, in actions some of which were documented on his mobile phone, while a number of soldiers witnessed the incident, some of whom tried to stop him from doing so.

Despite the soldier's confession to his crimes, the military court issued a lenient sentence of only 7 months in prison, with his rank reduced to ordinary soldier and a suspended prison sentence, as part of a plea bargain between the military prosecution and the convicted soldier.

While the court described the soldier's actions as "serious and in violation of military rules," it justified its acceptance of the plea bargain by pointing to "his personal circumstances and his cooperation during the investigation," in a ruling that reflects the continued leniency with soldiers' crimes against Palestinian prisoners.

The statement issued by the Israeli army said that the military court decided that the defendant's actions were "serious and grave," and said that Israeli army soldiers are obligated to use the force entrusted to them in accordance with what it described as "army values" and military orders, at all times, especially during war.

He added, "Based on the balance between the seriousness of the acts and the personal circumstances of the accused, and his responsibility which he acknowledged during the mediation process, in addition to the long period of detention that he will have to serve after his release from detention, the court decided to approve the plea bargain."

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation forces seized a vehicle and seized surveillance cameras in Jenin and Salfit.

In Jenin, the occupation forces detained a vehicle, interrogated its driver, and searched the vehicle. They also searched citizens’ vehicles around the Jalbuni roundabout in the city.

In Salfit, the occupation forces stormed the northern area of the city, raided citizens' homes and seized surveillance camera recordings, under the pretext of a breach in the iron fence separating the "Ariel" settlement.

The General Secretariat of the National Popular Conference for Jerusalem said that what US President Donald Trump did to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the White House the day before yesterday, Tuesday, is a complete adoption of the proposals, positions and security policy of Zionism in Israel, which considers the Torah as its reference, so that it does not recognize the Palestinians’ right to exist on the land of their historical homeland.

The General Secretariat added in an analysis of Trump's speech in which he called for the displacement of our people in the Gaza Strip to Egypt, Jordan or any other country to live in comfortable conditions and a beautiful environment that does not exist in Gaza, that it would have been more appropriate for the president of the largest country in the world, if he really wanted to relieve the Gazan citizens, to return them to their homes from which they were displaced in 1948 and not to displace them again, as the effects of that catastrophe are still tanned on their skins.

The General Secretariat, in its analysis issued by its media office, pointed out that the positions issued by Trump are consistent with the positions and policies of national Zionism and religious Zionism, which call for the unity of the Greater Land of Israel, especially in the West Bank and parts of Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, stressing that it is not possible to reach a political solution that leads to a peace agreement with these groups that deny the existence of the Palestinian people and absolutely reject the two-state or one-state solution.

The General Secretariat explained that Trump gave Netanyahu a strong push forward and provided him with a safety net in his government, with the far-right Jewish parties and even with Israeli society itself, when he addressed him as the best leader for Israel, in veiled praise for the war crimes committed by his army in Gaza against a defenceless people, using the Hamas movement and its armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, as a pretext to launch a merciless and relentless war against children, women, the elderly, buildings, infrastructure and superstructure in the stricken Strip.

The General Secretariat of the National Popular Conference for Jerusalem stated that Trump, in his arrogance, bias, and even his adoption of Netanyahu’s policies and positions, surpassed the government of his predecessor, Joe Biden, and his Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, who said in Israel when he visited it after October 7, 2023, that he came as a Zionist and not as his country’s foreign minister, noting that Netanyahu achieved what he wanted and more from this visit, in which Trump expressed absolute intimacy towards a man wanted by international justice for the war crimes he committed against the Palestinian people.

The General Secretariat noted that what Trump raised regarding the issue of permanently displacing the Gazans, contrary to what he had said in the past days that he wanted temporary displacement until reconstruction, is tantamount to declaring a new war on the Palestinian people and achieving what Netanyahu’s army could not achieve by military force through American arrogance and malice, as he said, “A word of truth intended to be false,” as it is unreasonable for a world leader of this level to raise the issue of displacing an entire people from their homeland in order to please Netanyahu, who has caused calamities for his people, the Palestinian people, and the entire region just to remain in power.

The General Secretariat considered that Netanyahu is working to achieve the Zionist dream of establishing Greater Israel in partnership with Trump and based on the biblical myth that the West Bank is "Judea and Samaria" which God gave to the Jews to establish their alleged national homeland from the Euphrates to the Nile. While Gaza comes in second place to exploit its natural gas resources found on its beautiful shores, which Trump seeks to explore during the reconstruction process to benefit from it for the benefit of the American treasury, which is completely consistent with his economic vision to bring peace to the region according to his own measurements.

The General Secretariat of the Conference considered that the Trump-Netanyahu project to divide the region, impose immigration on our people, and blackmail the Arab governments, which he described as rich, in reference to the Gulf States, will fail miserably, just as the Deal of the Century that he launched during his first term in office failed. He has not learned from the lessons written by our people in the Gaza Strip, who returned from the south to the north on foot, more than 15 kilometers, and slept on the ruins of their homes, among the rubble and remnants of war, not caring about all the repercussions of the great massacre that modern history has witnessed in the smallest and most densely populated geographical area in the world.

The General Secretariat stressed that Trump's marginalization of the Palestinian Authority and his failure to mention it in his speech to the press alongside Netanyahu is part of the war waged by Israel against the national project and the PLO, the most prominent manifestation of which is the military attack on the northern and central West Bank, while Jerusalem is witnessing a silent Judaization process amidst the turmoil of the ongoing war, stressing that this project, which was baptized with pure Palestinian blood, cannot be bypassed or cancelled by anyone because it represents all Palestinians and the aspirations of the people yearning for freedom and independence, like all the peoples of the earth.

The General Secretariat called for confronting the Trump-Netanyahu project to liquidate the Palestinian cause with national unity and agreement on the goals to be achieved and the tools that must be relied upon for that, stressing that monopolizing the making of fateful decisions concerning the Palestinian people undermines the cause and does not raise its status or lead our people to safety or make them respected by nations in all corners of the earth.

Today, Thursday, settlers stormed the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied city of Jerusalem, under the protection of the Israeli occupation police.

Eyewitnesses reported that dozens of settlers stormed the eastern area of Al-Aqsa Mosque in groups, and some of them performed Talmudic rituals such as the “epic prostration.”

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares rejected on Thursday a proposal by Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz to have Spain receive Palestinians if they are displaced from Gaza.

"The land of the people of Gaza is Gaza...and Gaza must be part of the future Palestinian state," Albares said in an interview with a Spanish station.

This comes a day after the Spanish foreign minister rejected US President Donald Trump's proposal to resettle Gaza residents elsewhere and take control of the Strip, to create a "Riviera of the Middle East".

"I want to be very clear on this matter, Gaza is the land of the Palestinians, the people of Gaza, and they must remain there," Jose Manuel Albares told reporters yesterday.

He added: "Gaza is part of the future Palestinian state that Spain supports."

Katz had stated that Spain, Ireland and Norway, which last year recognized the Palestinian state, "are legally obligated to allow any resident of Gaza to enter their territories."

Last night, settlers established a new colonial outpost east of the Tayasir checkpoint in the northern Jordan Valley.

Human rights activist Aref Daraghmeh reported that the settlers had set up a pergola to the east of the Tayasir checkpoint, and brought a number of cattle to the area, amid fears that it would be the nucleus of a new colonial outpost in the Jordan Valley.

There are now more than 8 colonial outposts in the northern Jordan Valley, most of which are pastoral in nature, through which the colonists seize thousands of dunams of pastoral land.

Hundreds of tents were flooded and others were blown away, sheltering thousands of displaced people, due to heavy rains and strong winds in Rafah and Mawasi Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

The displaced people were forced to spend the night in the open under the influence of the bitter cold and winds that tore apart what remained of their dilapidated tents, making them unfit to protect their residents in such weather.

The heavy rains that fell on the governorates of the Gaza Strip exacerbated the suffering of tens of thousands of citizens whose homes were destroyed by the Israeli war of genocide, in light of the impact of a low-pressure system hitting the Palestinian territories.

The displaced people are facing harsh conditions amidst severe cold and strong winds, as thousands live in tents made of nylon and thin cloth, which lack the minimum protection from rain and storms.

Those who returned to the northern Gaza Strip are also facing difficulties in setting up and securing their tents, in light of unfavorable weather conditions, in addition to the severe shortage of food and the lack of heating materials.

Citizens whose homes were destroyed due to the crimes and massacres of the occupation are living in the streets, playgrounds, public squares and schools, without any means to protect them from the cold and storms.

The lack of fuel exacerbates the crisis, as families find themselves unable to secure any means of heating in light of the low temperatures at night.

Reactions have been coming in Gaza and around the world, rejecting the statements of US President Donald Trump calling for the displacement of the people of Gaza and the imposition of US control over the Strip, while attention is turning to the completion of the first phase of the exchange deal and the resumption of the ceasefire negotiations hosted by Doha.

The Palestinians unanimously rejected any form of displacement, and that the displacement and settlement plans in other countries were nothing but attempts to liquidate the issue and end their legitimate right to return to their original cities, villages and towns occupied during the Nakba in 1948.

The White House sought to clarify Trump's plan for US control of the Gaza Strip and the deportation of its residents, after the proposal sparked a flood of condemnatory reactions from the Palestinians, Arabs and the international community.

The White House confirmed that Washington "will not fund the reconstruction of Gaza."

Following Trump's statements and as the ceasefire in Gaza entered its 19th day on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced that he had instructed the army to prepare a plan for the residents of the Strip to leave voluntarily, expressing his welcome for Trump's plan, who said that the United States would control Gaza after the Palestinians were resettled elsewhere.

The Israeli negotiating team is heading to Doha on Saturday to discuss the deal with Hamas, but Israeli media reported that "the Israeli negotiating delegation will only discuss completing the first phase of the deal."

She added that the likelihood in Israel is that the discussion about the second phase will not take place until after the cabinet discusses Trump's plan.

This comes at a time when Israel continues to procrastinate and delay everything related to the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip under the ceasefire agreement, as data from government agencies in the Strip showed that the Israeli authorities did not abide by the number of trucks required to enter the Strip under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

The agreement stipulates the entry of 600 aid trucks daily, excluding commercial trucks, but their number during the 15 days, from January 19 to February 2, reached only 6,089 trucks.

The Israeli authorities are obstructing the entry of heavy equipment into the Gaza Strip, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement.

The Palestinian Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip said that its crews are unable to retrieve 10,000 martyrs still under the rubble, due to a lack of equipment.

A Hamas source said that the Israeli occupation is obstructing the implementation of some of the provisions stipulated in the ceasefire agreement, noting that the occupation army is still preventing the entry of heavy equipment in accordance with what was stipulated in the agreement.

Today, Thursday, international reactions condemned US President Donald Trump’s statements regarding control of the Gaza Strip and the displacement of Palestinians outside their homeland.

Colombian President Criticizes Trump's Plan to Displace Gazans

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has strongly criticized US President Donald Trump's plan to seize the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians to neighboring countries.

“They will start the worst wars because they consider themselves God’s people, but God’s people are not white Americans or Israelis, God’s people are humanity,” Pietro said in a post on the X platform.

Gulf Cooperation Council stresses the necessity of a two-state solution and giving the Palestinian people their legitimate rights

The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, affirmed the GCC’s firm position in supporting the Palestinian cause and the sovereignty of the Palestinian people over all Palestinian territories occupied since June 1967, establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, ensuring the return of refugees, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and international legitimacy resolutions, and rejecting any unilateral measures.

Al-Badawi stressed the GCC's position that the two-state solution is a guarantee for finding a permanent solution for peace and stability, which is what the "International Coalition for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution" seeks to achieve in cooperation and coordination with the Palestinian brothers and international and regional partners; with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace for the Palestinian cause.

He pointed out that the joint ministerial contact group between the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which was formed by the extraordinary joint Arab and Islamic summit, chaired by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is working to end the Israeli aggression on Gaza and the Israeli attacks in the West Bank, support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land, and support the efforts of the State of Palestine to gain recognition from more countries in the world, and support it to obtain full membership in the United Nations.

EU: Gaza is an integral part of the future Palestinian state

The Gaza Strip must be an integral part of a future Palestinian state, and the bloc is committed to a two-state solution, a European Union foreign policy spokesman said.

"The European Union remains strongly committed to the two-state solution and believes it is the only path to long-term peace for both Israelis and Palestinians," he added.

The European spokesman continued: "Gaza is an integral part of the future Palestinian state."

Amnesty International: Any plan to deport Palestinians is a war crime

Amnesty International said that US President Donald Trump's proposal to transfer Palestinians from Gaza is "outrageous" and constitutes a "flagrant violation of international law."

"Any plan to forcibly transfer Palestinians outside the occupied territories against their will is a war crime," said Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard.

Guterres: Two-state solution is the only way to achieve lasting peace

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed that the Palestinian people's exercise of their inalienable rights is based on their right to live on their land, and the two-state solution is the only way to achieve lasting peace.

During his speech at the annual meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Guterres stressed the importance of adhering to international law, avoiding any escalation that might further complicate the crisis, and halting any measures that might exacerbate the situation, including forced displacement that constitutes ethnic cleansing.

He pointed out that efforts are continuing around the clock to deliver humanitarian aid to needy Palestinians, calling on the international community and donors to provide full funding for humanitarian operations and support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which provides basic relief services to Palestinian refugees.

At dawn on Thursday, settlers cut off electrical wires supplying a number of citizens’ homes and a school in the Arab al-Malihat community, northwest of the city of Jericho.

Local sources reported that a number of settlers stormed the community and cut off electrical wires from 5 families in the village of Arab al-Malihat, and from the Arab al-Kaabneh Elementary School in the community.

It is noteworthy that the settlers are constantly attacking the Arab Al-Malihat community in the Al-Ma'rajat area, with the aim of oppressing them and forcing them to forcibly move from their residential areas.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation forces injured two citizens and arrested others in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem.

In occupied Jerusalem, the occupation forces arrested the young man Amin Muhammad Al-Abbasi after raiding his house in the Ain Al-Lawza neighborhood in the town of Silwan.

In Nablus, the occupation forces stormed Balata camp, raided several homes and arrested the young man Mahmoud Shehadeh from the Hashashin neighborhood.

The occupation forces also stormed the city of Nablus, towards the Krom Ashour area, and blew up part of the house of the family of prisoner Mahmoud Al-Nasser, who has been detained for two weeks, before withdrawing from the area.

In the Jordan Valley , three citizens were injured at dawn on Thursday as a result of the occupation forces assaulting them at the Al-Hamra military checkpoint in the northern Jordan Valley.

Medical sources reported that Red Crescent crews transferred three injured people as a result of the occupation soldiers severely beating them at the Hamra checkpoint.

Two soldiers were killed on Thursday when a crane fell in the northern Gaza Strip.

Hebrew sources said that the two soldiers were killed when the crane fell due to the storm and bad weather conditions.

It is natural that the statements of US President Donald Trump after his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he reiterated his demand for the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and for the United States to control the Strip, topped other news, which is dwarfed by the Palestinian, Arab and international tremors caused by such dangerous statements, and the stormy reactions that criticized, denounced, condemned and denounced what Trump is seeking to achieve, to please Netanyahu and Israel, considering it a declaration of war against our Palestinian people.

The Palestinian position has been and continues to be clear throughout history on the issue of displacement, expulsion and ethnic cleansing, with a categorical rejection of such suspicious projects, foremost among which is the project that Trump insists on implementing, while emphasizing that the Palestinian people will continue to adhere to their homeland, land and holy sites, until the establishment of their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of their refugees, and not to submit to any international authority or power.

Other Arab, Islamic and international positions, especially those of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, will contribute to repelling these bad and shameful statements, which are considered opportunistic and immoral, and will strengthen the Palestinian position with its leadership and people, and will forever reject any attempt to displace the Palestinian people from their land, whether in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, based on the contradiction of this with the Arab project and the fixed historical position on the Palestinian issue, and based on international law that prohibits the deportation or displacement of a people from their occupied land.

Trump's use of the hypothesis of destruction in the Gaza Strip, and his starting from humanitarian motives that life is very difficult in the destroyed Strip, cannot fool anyone, and they are considered a project ready for similar implementation by the ruling Israeli right-wing coalition in the West Bank. Just as Israel carried out the destruction in Gaza, and the task of displacement remained with Trump and the American administration, under the pretext that the Strip is an unfit and unsafe place to live, this will be an encouraging factor for Israel to complete the cycle of destroying the camps, cities and villages of the West Bank, with American cover, through which it gains American legitimacy in the hope that Trump will complete the cycle of ethnic cleansing of our people in the West Bank. There is no doubt that the statements of extremist Israeli ministers, led by Smotrich, who called for the village of Al-Funduq, Jenin and Nablus to become like Jabalia, are clear and tangible evidence of Israel's intentions to continue the destruction operations and to seek Trump's help for displacement.

The Palestinian people will remain steadfast, rooted in their land and homeland, and clinging to every grain of their soil. Trump will inevitably disappear, and will ultimately not remain in the White House. The ones who decide the fate of Palestine are its people, who are the only ones who have the right to do so. Gaza is not for sale, barter or trade, and its people, its people and its inhabitants have decided not to leave their places and temporary headquarters except to their cities and villages from which they were displaced.

What is required is a Palestinian national stance and consensus in the face of this step, provided that the Arab countries maintain their positions and reject all steps and conspiracies targeting the Palestinian cause, so that we can say loudly to Netanyahu: No to destruction, and to Trump: No to displacement, and only our people, on whose rock of steadfastness and perseverance all these projects will be shattered, are the ones who will decide the fate.

President Donald Trump’s “shock and awe” assault on many key institutions in Washington has been somewhat successful. His cabinet picks, mass expulsions of immigrants, threats to federal employees, and executive orders have been a show of force designed to confuse and demoralize his opponents. Although Trump’s focus has been primarily on the domestic front, he has made some blunt foreign policy statements, such as threatening to reclaim the Panama Canal and force Denmark to sell Greenland. But as the reactions from Denmark, Canada, and Panama have shown, these “tests” and challenges have not had the same impact as his domestic decisions.

In another foreign policy gambit, Trump threw a bombshell into the middle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, suggesting that before reconstruction could begin, it would be necessary to “cleanse Gaza.” He reportedly tried to pressure Jordan and Egypt to accept the bulk of the Palestinians from Gaza, with Albania and Indonesia considered as possible alternatives for resettlement. But none of these countries agreed to participate in this bizarre scheme. Beyond the simple refusal, the Palestinians, preoccupied with their emotional return to northern Gaza and resisting the increasingly aggressive occupation in the West Bank, largely ignored Trump’s bait.

Let us be clear: if the ceasefire holds and the reconstruction phase moves on, there are serious issues that must be addressed, including two million homeless Palestinians, hundreds of thousands of destroyed homes and buildings, which it is believed will take two or three years to clear or repurpose the rubble, and decades to build enough housing.

If you didn’t know Trump or his Israeli allies, you might think he was appealing to Gaza’s neighbors to show mercy on its displaced people and shelter them until it can be rebuilt. But Trump has shown no sign of being moved by the suffering of the Palestinians, and the idea of building a resort on Gaza’s shores might be more appealing to him.

Netanyahu’s coalition clearly wants to expel the Palestinians from Gaza. Thus, Trump’s “proposal” to move the Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan sounds like his blessing for a new Nakba. In the Nakba of 1948, 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes, and Israel then demolished more than 420 Palestinian villages to ensure that they could not return.

This second Nakba would reverse the process, with Israel first demolishing entire neighborhoods in Gaza, then “transferring” two million Palestinians from their homeland. It is best not to assume that Netanyahu, his coalition, and their backers in Washington will not do the worst possible thing. Trump may try to bring “shock and awe” to the Middle East, or he may float the idea of transfer as part of reconstruction. But it is more likely to be Netanyahu’s “trial balloon,” testing regional acceptance of a plan for mass displacement to “solve” the Palestinian problem. Neither the Palestinians nor their supporters reacted with outrage to Trump’s “proposal.”

No clear plan has been proposed for clearing the rubble and rebuilding with two million Palestinians still in place. Accepting any resettlement and reconstruction plan requires at least two conditions: First, Israel must withdraw completely from Gaza, relinquishing control over entry and exit from the Strip. This precondition would allow Palestinians to feel confident that if they leave Gaza, they will be guaranteed a right of return. Second, some Palestinians returning to the north have difficulty identifying the locations of their former homes. To avoid confusion or disputes, if municipal records no longer exist, an effort should be made to map Gaza so that Palestinians can locate their homes and businesses.

Without solid guarantees of return and a plan to facilitate return to specific locations, resettlement and reconstruction efforts will only deepen the problems. For more than a century, the Palestinians have been mere pawns in the game of Western powers and the Zionist movement. Despite being dispersed, dispossessed of their lands, and scattered among countries, their national identity and connection to their land have not weakened but have grown stronger, making them a continuing thorn in the side of their oppressors. The United States must recognize this reality and, instead of adding to the suffering of the Palestinians, develop a humanitarian plan to compel Israel to end the occupation and implement the Palestinian rights that have long been denied to them.