Palestinians return to Gaza (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Hamas’ power may be neutralised under new proposals to allow Palestinians to remain in Gaza.
The plan, to be presented by the Arab League in an emergency session next month, follows mounting pressure by US President to relocate millions of Gazans to Egypt and Jordan in order to end the decades-old Palestinian conflict.
Arab nations, who have held Hamas at bay for decades, have been scrabbling to find alternatives which would see the hardened jihadists contained in Gaza.
“It’s telling that it has taken Trump to come to power to galvanise Arab states to act,” said Catherine Perez-Shakdam, of the Forum for Foreign Relations.
“Countries who haven’t really cared about the fate of Palestinians above using them as a weapon against now face the prospect of these Hamas’ terror invading their own nations .”
backtracked on threats to withdraw US aid from Jordan and Egypt if they do not accept his relocation plan but, in a meeting with Jordanian monarch King Abdullah ll bin Al-Hussein yesterday, insisted his plan would transform Gaza into a “diamond” once reconstruction is completed over the next 15 years.
The UN has warned that any forced displacement of civilians from occupied territory is strictly prohibited under international law and is “tantamount to ethnic cleansing”.
Egypt’s solution is a comprehensive reconstruction plan designed to ensure Palestinians remain in Gaza.
But this does not address the Hamas issue, and is unlikely to gain approval either by or the US.
It will also insist on a two-state solution, backed by the UN and UK, to see the creation of a Palestinian state on ‘s border.
This has already been rejected by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, with government insiders claiming it will take two generations of peace before the idea can be considered.
The 22-nation Arab League, in contrast, will propose a plan that could involve a local administration of technocrats drawn from Palestinians in Gaza , who have no affiliation to Hamas.
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Jordan’s King Abdullah ll bin Al-Hussein (Image: Getty Images)
Arab League Council Gathers in Cairo For 162nd Session (Image: Getty)
This will not be easy, however.
Despite Hamas’ heavily military losses during war against , the terror group remains heavily engrained in Gazan society through its security forces and civil administration.
Its showboating of related Israeli hostages has been aimed as much toward Gazans as Israelis in trying to show that it remains in charge.
“Exporting Gazans is a difficult solution – they deserve sovereignty over their affairs”, said Ms Perez-Shakdam.
“But Berlin was divided among allied powers after the Second World War because of the whole problem of what to do with a nation that had been so infiltrated by the Nazi regime. Hamas has achieved the same levels of control. “
Dr Alan Mendoza, of the Henry Jackson Society think tank, questioned whether Arab states would follow through.
“We know they can do it. The Arab world has been successful in suppressing groups like Hamas for decades. Even Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood broke out in the Arab Spring and briefly took power, has since managed to contain it again,” he said.
“All of these states, including Jordan, have repressive secret police entities which are very capable of using them to prevent from being toppled. “
He added: “This sore has been running for decades and something must change in order to solve it.
“But this plan would mean suppressing Hamas and killing Palestinians abroad, and the question is whether they would be willing to employ their agencies to do achieve this. “