US president Donald Trump, at a joint press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, announced that America would ‘take over Gaza’ and ‘own it’.
Gaza is now to be added to Trump’s list of countries to be taken over by US imperialism including Greenland, Panama and Canada.
For Palestinians in Gaza, Trump promised full-scale ethnic cleansing, transforming the Gaza Strip into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’, by driving every last Palestinian out either into Egypt, Jordan or any other country in the region.
Trump told his audience: ‘The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.’
Trump neglected to say that all these unexploded bombs together with the thousands that did explode were provided by the US to facilitate the mass murder of upwards of 61,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
What Trump is proposing is to drive over 2 million Palestinians out of Gaza and into ‘other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts’.
Achieving the forcible displacement of over 2 million Palestinians is way beyond the capabilities of the Israeli occupation force.
Israel, despite all the bombs and over $22 billion in military aid provided by its US masters, has failed to crush the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
Indeed the resistant forces in Gaza have fought the once ‘invincible’ Israeli military machine to a standstill, where even its generals now openly admit they have no chance of achieving Netanyahu’s stated aims of completely destroying Hamas, or the determination of Palestinians not to be driven from their land.
Instead of victory Netanyahu and his right-wing Zionist dominated war cabinet were forced to agree to the temporary ceasefire agreement to secure the release of Israeli prisoners held by Hamas.
In a desperate attempt to rescue the situation, the US is on the verge of sending troops in to achieve the aim of imperialism and its Zionist ally of ethnically cleansing Gaza and the West Bank, and the occupied territories coming under direct rule of the Israeli regime, thus ensuring American dominance.
Trump left open the possibility of direct military intervention and deploying American troops in Gaza, stating: ‘If it’s necessary, we’ll do that’.
Trump’s announcement has brought on a deluge of anger from those countries in the region that he proposes should take in displaced Palestinians, namely Jordan and Egypt, both previously stalwart allies of the US.
Well placed sources in Jordan told the Middle East Eye yesterday that Jordan is ready to declare war on Israel if it attempts to forcibly expel Palestinians into its territory.
Diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Quatar at a meeting in Cairo unequivocally rejected any forcible displacement of Palestinians.
The leaders of these countries are aware that despite any desire to remain faithful allies of the US, the masses on their streets, especially the youth, will not tolerate any complicity with the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
Trump’s declaration of direct military intervention in Gaza must not be dismissed as demented ravings.
It directly reflects the requirements of US imperialism that has suffered a huge blow in the defeat of its Zionist attack dog, to crush the Palestinian people, and assert American domination over the strategically vital Middle East region and ensure its oil wealth for exploitation by capitalism.
With US imperialism at the stage of declaring war across the globe for the profits of the ruling capitalist class, the working class internationally must intervene by taking action and not allow its leaders to stand aside and attempt to restrict workers and youth to simply protesting against genocide and war.
These leaders must be removed and replaced with leaders prepared to organise workers and youth in revolutionary action to go from general strikes and mass protests to seizing power and putting an end to capitalism with the victory of the world socialist revolution.
Build the WRP and Young Socialists in Britain and sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in every country to lead the world socialist revolution to victory and advance humanity from imperialist wars and slaughter!
This is the only way forward.