Donald Trump's call for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza has been thoroughly repudiated by Palestinians. Palestinians are not ready to leave the land they inhabit and cannot accept any plan to vacate them or displace them. Sayid Abu Elish, a refugee from Jabaliya camp, said that his wife and two daughters were being killed when Israeli airstrikes killed them last month. Despite this tragedy, Sayid insists they will not leave. He said, "We will not leave here. We will stay and rebuild our homes."
Last month, when Israel and Hamas entered a ceasefire, millions of people returned to their homes, although their lives had been torn apart by bombings. Human rights groups criticized Trump's remarks, saying that his suggestion to relocate Palestinians to Egypt or Jordan was akin to calls for ethnic cleansing. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump's proposal to relocate Palestinians sparked outrage, as it echoed previous attempts to forcibly expel Palestinians. Human rights organizations denounced this as an ongoing effort to erase Palestinians from their ancestral land.
Many Palestinians, like Abu Elish, have suffered significant personal loss at the hands of the conflict. Abu Elish described how, a few weeks ago, Israeli military forces drove his elderly relatives and other Palestinians out of their homes in southern Israel, reducing them to rubble. His family ultimately found shelter in the Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza, where generations of his family have lived. The camp itself got destroyed in this conflict, which saw many of the homes to be reduced into rubble.
Mustafa al-Ghassar, another Palestinian who lived in a neighborhood in southern Israel, also shared his experience. Forced to flee when Israel attacked their town, al-Ghassar said, "We are not leaving. I am staying on my land, even if we are living in ruins." He highlighted how, despite the challenges of living in such conditions, Palestinians are determined to rebuild Gaza.
In the midst of this destruction, Gaza residents are holding onto their land with great resolve. Despite having limited resources, such as water and electricity, they refuse to be displaced from their homes. Ibrahim Abu Riske, a resident of Rafah, who recently returned to his home, stated, "I would rather live in the ruins of my house than in shame anywhere else."
There is a Palestinian spirit of resilience in the face of the destruction on their land, but they cannot accept the proposition of relocation that Trump has suggested. They refuse to give up on rebuilding Gaza, no matter what difficulties stand in their way. They refuse to let go of their rights and the hope of staying on their ancestral lands despite the significant destruction.