Trump’s Vision for Gaza

There is little difference between Joe Biden and Donald Trump when it comes to their policies on Israel and Palestine. Biden is a politician who once said, “You don’t have to be Jewish to be a Zionist. I am a Zionist.” During Trump’s first presidential term, Biden did not reverse any of the decisions Trump made regarding Israel. The Biden administration claimed to support a “two-state solution,” but it made no real effort to pave the way for it. Moreover, Biden actively enabled Israel’s actions in what many describe as a “genocide against the Palestinians.” In Trump’s worldview, the idea of a “two-state solution” doesn’t even exist.

During his first term, Trump gave the green light for Israel to expand its illegal settlements in the West Bank. Biden, who ostensibly opposed such expansions, limited his response to imposing sanctions on a handful of settlers—a symbolic gesture that had no real impact on Israel’s actions. Biden also refrained from targeting Israeli ministers like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who actively encouraged and protected illegal settlers, thereby allowing Netanyahu’s government to continue its policies unchecked. Notably, both Smotrich and Ben-Gvir are themselves illegal settlers.

One of Trump’s first actions was to overturn Biden’s token sanctions. Trump is unlikely to object to Israel’s further expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. The Biden administration had suspended U.S. financial aid to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) until March 2025, a decision Trump left untouched.

At a Senate confirmation hearing, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Elise Stefanik stated that she believes Israel has a “Biblical right” to control the West Bank. The new U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, is a self-proclaimed “Christian Zionist.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are also known as staunch pro-Israel politicians.

Biden had temporarily suspended the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, though this pause did little to hinder Israel’s actions. Trump promptly resumed the shipments, stating, “We released them today, and they will receive them. They paid for it, and they’ve been waiting a long time.” However, the cost of these bombs was covered by the $3.8 billion in annual military aid the U.S. provides to Israel. Trump failed to mention to the American public that taxpayers were footing the bill for these weapons.

Trump also made remarks about depopulating Gaza, suggesting that its residents should be relocated to Jordan and Egypt. His comments were met with immediate applause from Bezalel Smotrich, who called Trump’s plan a “brilliant idea,” adding that “only disruptive thinking brings peace and security.” Smotrich framed the destruction of Gaza, the massacre of its people—including women and children—and the expulsion of survivors as a path to “peace and security.” This grotesque approach aligns disturbingly with the U.S.’s historical treatment of Native Americans and its settler-colonial policies. It serves as a key to understanding how the U.S. views the Palestinian people.

Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a real estate developer, suggested in a February 15, 2025, interview on a Harvard University YouTube program that Gaza’s coastal properties would be ideal for luxury tourism. According to Kushner, Israel should relocate Gaza’s civilians to the Negev Desert or Egypt, then move in to “finish the job.” He dismissed the two-state solution as “a very bad idea that rewards terrorism.”

When Trump looks at Gaza, he sees prime real estate waiting to be developed. Speaking to reporters, he said, “Gaza is on the coast, with the best climate and an extraordinary location. Everything is great. I looked at the photos; it looked like a giant ghost town. But you can do incredible things with it. Fantastic things.”

A normal person, however, would see Gaza and think of the over 50,000 people killed—70% of whom were women and children. A normal person would see Gaza as the site of the 21st century’s first fully-fledged genocide. A normal person would envision a people whose homes have been reduced to rubble. A normal person could never imagine Gaza’s surviving residents being expelled and the land turned into a luxury tourism hub. Trump’s vision of Gaza reveals who he truly is to the world.