Is it time to take Trump’s Gaza resettlement plan seriously?

As Donald Trump toys with the audacious idea of relocating Gaza’s population – whether to neighbouring Jordan and Egypt, or even as far afield as Albania and Canada – he touches on one of history’s most contentious and emotionally charged issues: the relocation of peoples.

The concept carries the heavy weight of historical precedent, fraught with both tragedy and necessity. Refugees, displaced by war or persecution, have long been subject to the capricious winds of political interest and international indifference. The Jewish people, exiled and scattered for centuries, endured persecution before reclaiming sovereignty in Israel. Refugee crises in post-war Europe, or more recently in Syria, have prompted waves of international aid and efforts at resettlement. Yet Trump’s proposal – positioned as a bold solution to the seemingly eternal Gaza problem – has provoked deafening outrage. Why? Because Trump is doing what the West fears most: speaking the unspeakable and, in doing so, laying bare the hypocrisy of those who profess to champion humanitarian ideals while rejecting practical solutions.