Local Palestinians, Mass. lawmakers, react to Trump's Gaza proposal
Following President Donald Trump's proposal on Tuesday to relocate Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip to allow the U.S. to take control and rebuild the region, both allies and adversaries of the U.S. have announced their objections.
During a press conference on Wednesday, the White House walked back on Trump's statements.
Palestinians in Massachusetts who visit Andala Coffee House in Cambridge were also concerned by Trump's statements.
Trump has suggested that the U.S. redevelop Gaza and turn it into what he called “the Riviera of the Middle East,” adding that there are no other options for Palestinians living in Gaza.
This comes as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are already returning to Gaza to rebuild their homes.
Human rights groups have called Trump's proposal “ethnic cleansing,” while local Palestinians called it “insensitive.”
“I think are very insensitive,” Andala Coffee House Owner Sami Herbawi said. “The homes have been destroyed, but they want to stay in Gaza.”
Herbawi said his own family and hundreds of thousands more are returning to Gaza, with plans to rebuild their homes.
“People in Palestine, they value the land, they value their being and they know this is their identity,” Herbawi said. “You're taking somebody's identity. Where they gonna go?”
Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a staunch supporter of Israel, called Trump's proposal “reckless and unworkable.”
“A real estate development play is not the solution for 2 million Palestinians living with opportunity consistent with Israel’s security,” Auchincloss said.
Auchincloss said Congress would not agree to American soldiers on the ground in Gaza, comparing the idea to what the U.S. promised and failed to do in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“It harkens back to George W. Bush talking about nation building in Iraq and Afghanistan and how we were going to create liberal democracies and be welcomed as heroes,” Auchincloss said. “I was in Afghanistan in 2012 and I can assure you that's not what happened. It cost the American taxpayer $2 trillion and thousands of young lives lost.”
By: Shaun Chaiyabhat
Source: WCVB