Former diplomat and Middle East expert Talmiz Ahmad has strongly criticised US President Donald Trump’s remarks regarding a potential US takeover of Gaza.Ahmad stated that Trump has no coherent policy for Gaza and that his comments have only led to “chaos, confusion, and outrage.”Ahmad highlighted that Trump’s rhetoric is impulsive and lacks strategic thought, dismissing it as posturing without concrete plans. “There is no contribution that he has made that could be considered remotely positive or constructive,” Ahmad remarked.
Trump’s statements, which include proposals to relocate Palestinians to neighbouring nations and redevelop Gaza as the ‘Riviera of the Middle East,’ have drawn widespread criticism. Ahmad condemned these remarks as “obnoxious” and called for strong condemnation from the international community. “This is a region that has experienced extraordinary carnage of the kind that is without precedent, except in the world wars. We have had, within 15 months, 60,000 people killed in front of our eyes, and yet the US President has the temerity to say that he is going to construct a Riviera in Gaza. This is an absolutely obnoxious remark, and it is something that should be condemned very strongly.”Regional powers such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are attempting to decipher the implications of Trump’s statements. However, efforts from Trump’s officials to downplay his remarks as mere ‘ideas’ have done little to mitigate concerns.Below are the excerpts of the interview.Q: Donald Trump is saying that the US will take over Gaza. What will be the reaction, and can he execute what he says?Ahmad: We are watching Donald Trump in action during his second term. We were all very curious about what he would do and apprehensive; some even falsely believed he could be different.I am concerned that he is highly unpredictable, incredibly impulsive, and a complete megalomaniac, and I think he has not thought through the implications of any posturing he has done.There is no policy behind his remarks. His remarks so far concerning Gaza have created confusion, shock and outrage. He has made no contribution that could be considered remotely positive or constructive.This is a region that has experienced extraordinary carnage of the kind that is without precedent, except in the world wars. We have had, within 15 months, 60,000 people killed in front of our eyes. Yet, the US President has the temerity to say that he is going to construct a Riviera in Gaza, and that the entire population will be cleansed out, and that he will then occupy it on behalf of the American people, this is an obnoxious remark, and it is something that should be condemned very strongly.Q: What will this do to the current ceasefire, the truce we’re seeing? What about countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE? How are they going to react to this in the days to come if Trump tries to execute this plan with the support of the Israeli government?Ahmad: We are all very confused, and I’m sure the capitals in the region are trying to make sense of what has happened. Donald Trump’s officials have attempted to play down the implications of what he has said. Some have said that these are just ideas that have been floated. They are meant to encourage fresh thinking about the peace process. They should not be taken literally, and all of that. So, they are attempting to cover up some of the implications of what has been said.As for the ceasefire, the principal concern is the second phase. The second phase involves the release of the remaining hostages and involves total Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Right from the beginning, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown very deep reluctance to go through phase two. He had been preparing the ground for a renewal of conflict. He knows that phase two has two problems. Number one, that Hamas is still in charge of Gaza, and this is the Prime Minister who had said at the beginning of the Gaza carnage that he would cleanse the region of Hamas. That has not happened.The second concern, which is more tedious for Netanyahu, pertains to his government’s future. The right-wing elements within his coalition have said they will not accept a withdrawal from Gaza. On the contrary, they plan to cleanse Gaza of Palestinians and to plant Jewish settlers back into that enclave. So, there is a serious problem that Netanyahu faces with regards to the second phase because he is committed under that agreement to withdraw from Gaza, but that could lead to the fall of his government and the legal implications that will follow for him personally, as far as the criminal cases against him are concerned, and inquiries about his conduct that had led to the attack on October 7, 2023. So, there are serious implications, and we must be very concerned about what will happen now concerning the situation in Gaza and the ceasefire agreement.Watch the accompanying video for the entire conversation.
