Donald Trump has outdone himself. After a tumultuous return to the White House, the mercurial US president has unveiled arguably his most reckless plan to date. Having threatened to seize Greenland and the Panama Canal, Trump now has Gaza, the war-shattered Palestinian territory, in his sights. His proposal to move Gaza’s 2.2mn population elsewhere, with the US taking over the strip in a “long-term ownership position”, is as morally reprehensible as it is dangerous.
It would be easy to dismiss Trump’s comments as yet another performative statement. The plan is so preposterous that it is unlikely to ever see the light of day. But the very act of the president unveiling it before the global media, with the visiting Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, by his side, underlines the irresponsible way in which the world’s most powerful leader is conducting his foreign policy.
The self-proclaimed dealmaker seems to view the world as a giant bazaar in which everything is up for grabs to be used as bargaining chips, with little regard for the repercussions. This is not a game US allies across the globe can afford to let him play. It breeds fear and uncertainty, damaging Washington’s global standing and weakening its web of alliances.