During the latest press conference with Trump and Netanyahu, the U.S. president made a striking statement: Gaza was essentially a demolition site, unfit for human habitation. He described it as a dangerous zone littered with unexploded bombs, lacking sanitary facilities, and devoid of functional public services. In short, Gaza was not a place where families could live. However, he suggested that there might be a way to change that.
He was thinking rationally, applying common sense—the kind embraced by those who seek progress and prosperity. His proposal was straightforward: relocate Gaza’s residents, clear the debris, and rebuild the area into the most thriving and modern hub in the Middle East over the next decade or so. Meanwhile, give the Gazan Arabs a new life in other places and resettle them.
Sounds like a fantastic idea, doesn’t it? Of course—but only to those who seek a better, more prosperous future. However, this vision doesn’t resonate with leftist ideologues who reflexively invoke terms like "ethnic cleansing" without grasping their full meaning, nor does it align with Hamas, whose dream of erasing Israel from the map could be jeopardized by such a transformation. Likewise, many Arab states may and already have resisted the plan, even as Trump looked to them as potential hosts for displaced Palestinian Arabs.
Let me explain by starting with reasons Arab states are reluctant to host displaced Palestinian Arabs, even on a temporary basis. There are basically 3 reasons:
1. Arab and other Muslim states—such as Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iran, and others—have long used the Palestinian Arabs as pawns to keep the Arab-Israeli conflict alive. As long as Gaza remains a sprawling refugee camp, the hope of eventually wiping Israel off the map endures, but if Trump’s vision were to materialize, that hope would be extinguished.
Some may argue otherwise, pointing out that Egypt and Jordan have peace agreements with Israel and that Saudi Arabia is on the verge of normalization. These nations, they claim, do not actively seek Israel’s destruction. While this may be true at the leadership level, one must recognize that public sentiment in these countries often remains deeply hostile to Israel. Their leaders, fearing backlash or even threats to their own survival, may hesitate to embrace such a transformative plan. Meanwhile, other Muslim nations with openly hostile governments continue to manipulate the Palestinian Arab issue to serve their own strategic interests.
2. Arab leaders must remember the lessons of history. In 1948, on the eve of Israel’s War of Independence, Arab leaders urged Palestinian Arabs to leave their homes and seek refuge in neighboring Arab countries. Their promise was clear: they planned to invade Israel, destroy it, kill the Jews, seize their property, take Jewish women as sex slaves, and then hand over a Jew-free land to the victorious returning Palestinian Arabs.
However, that dream never materialized. Against all odds, the Jews triumphed over vastly superior and better-equipped Arab armies. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Arabs who heeded their leaders' call found themselves stranded—unwanted refugees in the very countries that had encouraged them to leave. They could not return to their homes in the newly established Jewish state, thus creating the infamous Palestinian Arab "refugee crisis" that persists to this day because the Arab countries in which they reside refuse to give them citizenship.
Arab leaders today fear history might repeat itself. If Gaza is temporarily for 10 to 15 years of reconstruction, there is a real concern that the displacement could become permanent as Trump actually plans. This uncertainty fuels hesitation, making them reluctant to embrace a plan that could reshape the future of the region.
3. A large influx of Palestinian Arabs could become a serious destabilizing force. Many have been raised in an environment of extremism, indoctrinated from a young age to embrace violence and terrorism. History offers a stark warning—when Yasser Arafat relocated his terrorist organization from the Judea and Samaria to Jordan in the 1970s, he aimed to overthrow King Hussein and seize control of the kingdom. Sensing the threat, Hussein took decisive action, launching a military campaign to crush the Palestinian Arab militants. Arafat and his forces were eventually expelled, fleeing to Lebanon, where they ignited new conflicts. Their presence in Southern Lebanon fueled the Lebanese Civil War and led to Israel’s invasion, as violence spilled across borders.
Arab leaders today fear a repeat of this scenario. A large Palestinian Arab refugee population within their borders could spark unrest, threaten national stability, and even endanger their own rule. The last thing they want is a resurgence of internal strife driven by radical elements within the Palestinian Arab community. Perhaps other countries can be found, Trump figures.
Although President Trump is brilliant, energetic, and highly accomplished, he approaches the world with the mindset of a rational, Western-oriented thinker. He assumes that everyone shares the same fundamental desires as those around him—the pursuit of happiness through good jobs, loving families, personal freedom, and, ultimately, a comfortable upper-middle-class lifestyle similar to that of the United States. But this is where he miscalculates. Only time will tell who is right.
Dr. Avi Perry, talk show host at Paltalk News Network (PNN), is the author of "Fundamentals of Voice Quality Engineering in Wireless Networks,"and "72 Virgins," a thriller about the covert war on Islamic terror. He was a VP at NMS Communications, a Bell Laboratories - distinguished staff member and manager, as well as a delegate of the US and Lucent Technologies to the ITU—the UN International Standards body in Geneva, a professor at Northwestern University and Intelligence expert for the Israeli Government. He may be reached through his web site www.aviperry.org