COLOMBO :
The Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine (SLCSP) has condemned US President Trump’s
shameless plan to evict Palestinians from their homes and lands in Gaza.” We call on people the
world over to reject this evil plan and join hands to bring about peace with justice to
Palestinians.” A statement from the committee said here on Thursday, March 20
“We also demand the genocidal leaders of Israel be tried for crimes against humanity for the
murder and mayhem they are unleashing of these helpless people.
On 15 January a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza which
commenced on 7 September 2023
the Palestinian territory in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a ‘Hamas’ attack on an illegal Jewish
settlement in Israeli-occupied Palestine.
Since then, Israel has killed 46,707 Palestinians including 18.000 children in 15 months of daily
bombardment. Thousands more are buried under the rubble and are presumed dead. At least
110,265 people have been injured in Gaza as a result of the bombardment. Israel has also cut
all supplies of water, food, medicine and electricity to the city.
Around 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been forcibly displaced during the
attacks. At least 60 percent of all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed. In addition, Israeli
Defense Forces (IDF) have conducted numerous airstrikes on more than 200 educational
facilities, including universities in the Gaza Strip.
According to UN reports, Israel has also carried out 136 strikes on Gaza hospitals which have
caused critical damage and casualties among medical personnel.
It is in this context we have to view US President Trump’s proposal for peace in Palestine. Since
winning the US presidential election President Trump threatened to “unleash all hell” on
Palestinians. Unless ‘Hamas’ releases all Israeli hostages.
Hamas rejected Trump’s demands and called on Israel to release the thousands of Palestinians
held hostage in Israeli prisons in return for prisoners taken by Hamas.
A fragile peace process based on the exchange of prisoners is now in operation between Hamas
and the Israeli government. The exchange of prisoners is not complete with Israel holding out
releasing a number of Palestinians. Despite the ceasefire Israel continues carrying out random
raids into Palestinian territory
It is at this point US president Trump interjected himself into the peace process to bring about
an end to Israel’s continuing attacks on the people of Palestine.
The US president’s ‘peace plan for Palestine is both simplistic as it is without any foundation for
ground realities.
President Trump has proposed that the United States “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip. His
statement came during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at
the White House on February 4
On 10 February in a Fox News interview, Trump stated that Palestinians would not return to
Gaza because “they’re going to have much better housing and a permanent place for them”.
He is also calling on Egypt and Jordan to provide land in their countries to house the Palestinians
evicted from the Gaza Strip.
In simple language Trump’s plan for peace in Gaza, is to ethnically cleanse Gaza of its Palestinian
population and for the US to take over Palestinian territory!
Gaza’s marine field hold an estimated 1.6 trillion cubic feet in recoverable natural gas resources.
The offshore Gaza territory also holds additional energy resources. Trump’s ‘peace plan’ is to
gain control of these resources of the Palestinian people.
The Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine, in solidarity with the people of Palestine
and the neighboring Arab states rejects out of hand Trump’s
racially biased plan to cleanse the Palestinian city of Gaza of Palestinians as well as to hand over
Palestinian territory to the US.
For the past 77 years -since the setting up of the State of Israel in Palestine- Palestinians have
been under Israeli attack. Todate there are as many as 1.5 million Palestinian refugees who live
in live in 58 recognised Palestine refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic,
the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
On 11 March Israel recommenced bombing of the Gaza Strip. The 11 March attacks led to over
400 Palestinians being killed in a single day.
US president Trump’s so-called ‘peace plan’ in reality, is simply a means of delivering the whole
of Palestine into Israeli hands on the one hand and rewarding those who commit mass murder, genocide on the other hand.” Pix AFP
