Palestinians reject Trump’s relocation plan as they return to Gaza’s north | Israel-Palestine battle Information

Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, Palestine – Saqr Maqdad and his household set out on their troublesome journey again to northern Gaza late on Sunday night time, hours earlier than Israel reopened the north for the primary time because the early days of its 15-month struggle on the Palestinian enclave, following a fragile ceasefire settlement with Hamas.

Abandoning the Khan Younis displacement camp within the south, the 31-year-old, alongside along with his spouse, and two daughters, Reema, 5, and two-year-old Rawaa, walked northward alongside the coastal al-Rashid highway hoping to succeed in Beit Hanoon, the household’s hometown, on the far northern tip of the besieged territory.

The Maqdad household had been amongst an estimated 200,000 Palestinians who streamed again into essentially the most devastated components of the Gaza Strip on Monday, a dramatic return to areas many had feared Israel would by no means enable them to re-enter within the aftermath of the struggle.

When Al Jazeera met them as they handed via central Gaza, that they had already walked roughly 20 kilometres (12.4 miles), carrying just a few small baggage of clothes.

However the household had been decided nonetheless, adamant that they might return residence.

“We’re going again to the place the place we grew up, the land that holds our reminiscences,” Saqr stated. “Even when it’s destroyed, it’s nonetheless ours.”

That sentiment, implicitly shared by the 1000’s journeying north, is in direct battle with feedback made by United States President Donald Trump on Saturday, the place he steered that Palestinians in Gaza could possibly be despatched to neighbouring Jordan and Egypt.

“You’re speaking about most likely one million and a half individuals, and we simply clear out that complete factor and say: ‘You understand, it’s over’,” Trump stated.

Whereas Trump stated that the transfer could possibly be a short lived measure, his feedback drew fast backlash, with critics accusing him of advocating for mass displacement, significantly in mild of the Israeli far-right’s push for unlawful Israeli settlements in Gaza.

“Trump’s discuss of relocating us is pure fantasy,” Saqr scoffed. “Does he assume, after all the pieces we’ve endured, we’ll simply go away? That is our residence, and we’re staying.”

He emphasised that his household’s journey to Beit Hanoon was about greater than merely returning residence.

“It’s a message to the occupation and its backers: we is not going to abandon our land. We’ll keep right here, irrespective of the fee.”

Throughout Gaza, Palestinians have rejected Trump’s proposal, viewing it as an extension of efforts to “uproot them from their land”, Saqr added.

“No political scheme, irrespective of how highly effective, can change that,” he defined.

“Each step we took again to the north was a step towards displacement,” he stated. “That is our land. We had been born right here, and we’ll die right here.”

No relocation

In southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, 76-year-old Abu Suleiman Zawaraa has been quietly waging his personal type of resistance. His farm, as soon as teeming with olive and citrus timber, was razed throughout a months-long Israeli navy operation. Abu Suleiman has spent the previous few months reclaiming the land.

“I’ve cleared seven dunams [7,000 square metres] of rubble by hand,” he stated, gesturing in the direction of the freshly tilled soil. “Why? As a result of that is my land, and nobody can take it from me.”

For Abu Suleiman, the act of farming can be a declaration of defiance.

“Dwelling among the many rubble is a problem, however it’s one we’ve accepted,” he stated. “Leaving Gaza is out of the query. We’ve survived bombardments, destruction, and loss. We is not going to surrender now.”

Israel’s navy marketing campaign in Gaza, launched on October 7, 2023, has left an unparalleled toll on the enclave. With greater than 46,700 Palestinians lifeless, together with 18,000 kids, and practically 1.9 million individuals displaced, there’s little left untouched. Greater than half of Gaza’s buildings have been broken or destroyed, together with vital infrastructure: 92 p.c of main roads and 84 p.c of well being services have been compromised.

Abu Suleiman dismissed Trump’s relocation feedback, saying he “doesn’t perceive historical past or actuality”.

“A individuals who have endured 15 months of relentless bombardment and refused to go away won’t ever comply with pressured relocation,” Abu Suleiman stated.

For a lot of Palestinians, the prospect of leaving their homeland isn’t just unthinkable; it’s a betrayal of their historical past and id.

“Sure, we’ve endured unimaginable struggling, the destruction of all the pieces we personal, and the trauma of genocide,” stated Abu Suleiman. “However none of this will push anybody to simply accept displacement. Our reminiscences of the Nakba in 1948 stay vivid. Those that left then by no means returned, and we is not going to let historical past repeat itself.”

The Nakba, or “disaster”, the occasion that Abu Suleiman referred to, was the pressured displacement of at the very least 750,000 Palestinians from their properties in 1948 upon the formation of Israel on 78 p.c of historic Palestine.

That reminiscence has stayed for a lot of Palestinians, and sometimes shapes their actions immediately.

Abu Suleiman identified that alternatives to go away Gaza had been obtainable throughout and even earlier than the struggle, however individuals have overwhelmingly chosen to remain, at the same time as demise loomed nearer than life.

“We see ourselves as a part of the resistance, as defenders of Palestine. To provide in or go away would imply paying a worth the whole nation can’t afford,” he stated. “This heavy burden solely strengthens our resolve to carry on to our land, even when it means dwelling amid ruins.”

Israa Mansour, a 35-year-old mom of 4 dwelling in a makeshift tent after her residence was destroyed in Khan Younis, backed Abu Suleiman’s argument.

“We refuse to go away, not as a result of we lack choices, however as a result of that is our residence,” she stated. “Even my kids perceive the worth of staying in our land regardless of the struggling.”

Israa argued, nevertheless, that Palestinian leaders should step as much as present minimal help, together with schooling, healthcare, and emergency assist, to assist individuals face up to the insufferable situations.

“How can we battle displacement if we lack the essential requirements of life? Is it affordable to count on Gaza to endure this inferno indefinitely whereas demanding extra resilience from its individuals?” Israa stated. “With out meals, shelter, and fundamental wants, even the strongest households may be pressured to think about options, not out of a scarcity of patriotism, however out of sheer desperation.”

‘That is our land’

Hani al-Aqqad, a Palestinian political analyst from Gaza, sees Palestinian refusal to desert their land as a major cause for why he believes Trump’s proposed relocation plan will fail.

“Each previous try and displace Palestinians has failed as a result of they take into account this battle their very own,” he stated. “When households camp within the open for days, simply to return to the ruins of their northern cities, it’s the last word expression of dedication to remain.”

Al-Aqqad pointed to the mass return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, regardless of the whole destruction and lack of companies within the area, which was significantly focused by Israel throughout the struggle, as a message to each Israel and worldwide proponents of relocation.

“Trump and others fail to grasp the Palestinians,” he stated. “This isn’t nearly dwelling on land; it’s a couple of relationship with their homeland that’s uncompromising and deeply rooted in historical past and id.”

“The return to the north, understanding what awaits, is a transparent rejection of pressured relocation,” al-Aqqad stated. “These advocating for such schemes should settle for that Palestinians won’t ever go away their land. As an alternative, they need to give attention to recognising their rights and supporting a pathway to statehood.”

He additionally dismissed the concept of “voluntary displacement” via deliberate deprivation.

“Israel has succeeded in making Gaza practically unlivable,” he stated. “However they’ve didn’t separate Palestinians from their land. Palestinians in Gaza have confirmed again and again that they’ll revive even essentially the most devastated locations, understanding their battle isn’t just about survival however a nationwide mission.”

This text is printed in collaboration with Egab.