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An activist dressed as the Statue of Liberty, draped in chains, as they rally in support of Palestinians during the "Arrest Netanyahu at the White House Rally" near the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 4, 2025. Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump at the White House for crucial talks on the truce with Hamas, as the U.S. president suggested ethnically cleansing all Palestinians from war-battered Gaza.
(Photo by Hanna Leka / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP)
A Counter Proposal to Trump's Ethnic Cleansing Plan for Gaza
The U.S. has spent nearly $20 billion on blowing up Gaza at an estimated cost of more than $400,000 for every Gazan killed. Surely we can afford the reparations now owed the Palestinian people.
Feb 05, 2025
After meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump repeated his assertion that “the Palestinians have no choice but to leave Gaza.” The utter destruction of buildings and infrastructure is almost incalculable.
Trump’s solution is to depopulate Gaza of Palestinians by sending them to Egypt and Jordan. This would be a continuation of the war crimes in the furtherance of the Israeli agenda of ethnic cleansing. Furthermore, the displacement of so many refugees would result in political instability in both countries and the festering of future conflicts with Israel.
Trump’s insights should be applied to a better, more just and longer lasting solution. If Gazans were to go anywhere during the reconstruction, it should be to the United States. We are the country most responsible for suppling the IDF with the means of blowing up Gaza. We should invite up to 2 million Palestinians giving them Green Cards and a road to citizenship or dual citizenship as is common among Israeli Americans.
We cannot ignore the human costs. We must be deeply committed to supporting the rebuilding of Gaza but also to the rebuilding of human infrastructure by enabling Gazans to live and reconstruct their lives.
Gazans should be welcomed to this country and provided free medical care, and education to make up for the loss of schools, universities and hospitals as a direct result of explosive armaments sent from the United States. They should receive access to employment, and credit to establish businesses given the destruction of Gaza’s commerce. Of course, the people of Gaza would be able to return to their homeland at any time of their choosing.
We must squarely face up to two issues. The first is the obligation by the United States and Israel to pay for the bulk of the cleanup and for the physical reconstruction of Gaza. The U.S. has spent nearly $20 billion on blowing up Gaza at an estimated cost of more than $400,000 for every Gazan killed.
We cannot ignore the human costs. We must be deeply committed to supporting the rebuilding of Gaza but also to the rebuilding of human infrastructure by enabling Gazans to live and reconstruct their lives.
I am certain the American President will lead the country to endorse this plan given his pragmatic insights regarding the scale of destruction and the required relocation of Palestinians. Furthermore, we will have ample human space to welcome Palestinians as the result of Trump’s vigorous program of ethnic cleansing of people currently residing within our borders.
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Steve Minkin
Steve Minkin is the author of "Blood, Race, and the Missing History of AIDS" and of two poetry collections, "Moral Oblivion" and "Where People Are Trees."
After meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump repeated his assertion that “the Palestinians have no choice but to leave Gaza.” The utter destruction of buildings and infrastructure is almost incalculable.
Trump’s solution is to depopulate Gaza of Palestinians by sending them to Egypt and Jordan. This would be a continuation of the war crimes in the furtherance of the Israeli agenda of ethnic cleansing. Furthermore, the displacement of so many refugees would result in political instability in both countries and the festering of future conflicts with Israel.
Trump’s insights should be applied to a better, more just and longer lasting solution. If Gazans were to go anywhere during the reconstruction, it should be to the United States. We are the country most responsible for suppling the IDF with the means of blowing up Gaza. We should invite up to 2 million Palestinians giving them Green Cards and a road to citizenship or dual citizenship as is common among Israeli Americans.
We cannot ignore the human costs. We must be deeply committed to supporting the rebuilding of Gaza but also to the rebuilding of human infrastructure by enabling Gazans to live and reconstruct their lives.
Gazans should be welcomed to this country and provided free medical care, and education to make up for the loss of schools, universities and hospitals as a direct result of explosive armaments sent from the United States. They should receive access to employment, and credit to establish businesses given the destruction of Gaza’s commerce. Of course, the people of Gaza would be able to return to their homeland at any time of their choosing.
We must squarely face up to two issues. The first is the obligation by the United States and Israel to pay for the bulk of the cleanup and for the physical reconstruction of Gaza. The U.S. has spent nearly $20 billion on blowing up Gaza at an estimated cost of more than $400,000 for every Gazan killed.
We cannot ignore the human costs. We must be deeply committed to supporting the rebuilding of Gaza but also to the rebuilding of human infrastructure by enabling Gazans to live and reconstruct their lives.
I am certain the American President will lead the country to endorse this plan given his pragmatic insights regarding the scale of destruction and the required relocation of Palestinians. Furthermore, we will have ample human space to welcome Palestinians as the result of Trump’s vigorous program of ethnic cleansing of people currently residing within our borders.
Steve Minkin
Steve Minkin is the author of "Blood, Race, and the Missing History of AIDS" and of two poetry collections, "Moral Oblivion" and "Where People Are Trees."
After meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump repeated his assertion that “the Palestinians have no choice but to leave Gaza.” The utter destruction of buildings and infrastructure is almost incalculable.
Trump’s solution is to depopulate Gaza of Palestinians by sending them to Egypt and Jordan. This would be a continuation of the war crimes in the furtherance of the Israeli agenda of ethnic cleansing. Furthermore, the displacement of so many refugees would result in political instability in both countries and the festering of future conflicts with Israel.
Trump’s insights should be applied to a better, more just and longer lasting solution. If Gazans were to go anywhere during the reconstruction, it should be to the United States. We are the country most responsible for suppling the IDF with the means of blowing up Gaza. We should invite up to 2 million Palestinians giving them Green Cards and a road to citizenship or dual citizenship as is common among Israeli Americans.
We cannot ignore the human costs. We must be deeply committed to supporting the rebuilding of Gaza but also to the rebuilding of human infrastructure by enabling Gazans to live and reconstruct their lives.
Gazans should be welcomed to this country and provided free medical care, and education to make up for the loss of schools, universities and hospitals as a direct result of explosive armaments sent from the United States. They should receive access to employment, and credit to establish businesses given the destruction of Gaza’s commerce. Of course, the people of Gaza would be able to return to their homeland at any time of their choosing.
We must squarely face up to two issues. The first is the obligation by the United States and Israel to pay for the bulk of the cleanup and for the physical reconstruction of Gaza. The U.S. has spent nearly $20 billion on blowing up Gaza at an estimated cost of more than $400,000 for every Gazan killed.
We cannot ignore the human costs. We must be deeply committed to supporting the rebuilding of Gaza but also to the rebuilding of human infrastructure by enabling Gazans to live and reconstruct their lives.
I am certain the American President will lead the country to endorse this plan given his pragmatic insights regarding the scale of destruction and the required relocation of Palestinians. Furthermore, we will have ample human space to welcome Palestinians as the result of Trump’s vigorous program of ethnic cleansing of people currently residing within our borders.
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