Deia El Bara, Gaza Strip, Palestine – Wasaev Abedo woke up Wednesday to tweet among her fellow Palestinians in Deia El Bara, central Gaza.
The debate was centered on US President Donald Trump and his announcement that the US would “take over” Gaza. Trump’s comments were made when he stood next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the person in charge of the decision to destroy Gaza in Israel’s war – the US president said that Palestinians were permanently moving out of the enclave He even said that he should.
Several of his officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, suggested that Trump’s language evoked both 19th-century colonialism and the ghost of ethnic cleansing, but on Wednesday the departure would be temporary.
Wasayef, 36, is one of the reactions of indifference.
“I wasn’t paying much attention,” she said as she set up a way to check out the rain-soaked tent.
“I don’t have the means to follow the phone or the news,” she added indifferently. His tired face betrayed his fatigue.
“All I know is that my mother and I will never leave Gaza no matter what happens. All we are waiting for now is a way to return to our destroyed home in the north.”
Wasaif considers Trump’s statement to be a form of pressure on both Palestinians and armed groups in Gaza, including Hamas.
“The people here will never accept forced displacement,” she said. They can withstand internal evacuations, but as Trump suggests, kicking them out of their country never works. ”
“It’s never going to happen.”
Imad Al-Qassas, a 60-year-old father of six, lives in a tent after being kicked out of East Deir El-Balah into its centre and his home was destroyed.
His response to Trump’s statement was clear: “That’s impossible.”
“This will never happen regardless of the destruction, devastation, or murder we have endured during this war,” he added.
“Where are you going?” he asked. “Even if the border crossings were opened and voluntary migration was offered, no matter how difficult my situation was, I never left.”
Imad believes that the ultimate shelter for a person is home, whether it be home, compensation, or host country, regardless of the temptation to resettle the country.
“I lived in Sudan for four years and six years in the 1990s in Libya. I was born in the United Arab Emirates. But in the end I went home,” he said firmly. Ta. “No matter what disasters befall us in Gaza, this is our homeland and we make it sacred.”
“Life outside of Gaza is not that easy for all people around the world, even under normal circumstances. Residence permits, renewals, documents – there is always a distinction between refugees and residents,” he explained. . “Imagine our situation now. We’ve been kicked out of Gaza, rejected, kicked out. We’ll definitely be humiliated and treated in the worst possible way.”
“I want to die where I stand. Even if they break me apart and my children, I won’t leave.”
Tears plunged into Imad’s face as he questioned what the world wanted from the Palestinians of Gaza.
“We are educated and cultural people. We live in our land and have the right to see it rebuild. We have a merchant, doctor, journalist, We have engineers. We have life. Why are we forced to leave?”
Like many Palestinians who have been displaced, Imad sees Trump’s remarks as part of “a wider effort to put pressure on the population.” Especially in discussions about prisoner interactions and reconstruction efforts.
“I am willing to wait 100 years for the reconstruction if necessary. No matter what, I will never leave.”
At the same time, Imad denounced Hamas, the Palestinian authority, and its neighbors, for not ending the war at any cost.
“This was all planned for a long time ago. The US and Israel have been planning this for years. All parties shut this plan down from the start, as it’s the people who are paying the price. You need to do that.”
“We don’t care anymore.”
Unlike Imad, Khaled Maqbel, 63, and his wife, Iman, 52, did not respond when asked about Trump’s statement.
“God will be pleased, and he will be taken away,” muttered Iman McBell, 52, and turned his face away.
“Two of my daughters and two grandchildren were killed in an Israeli air attack during the war, so I stopped caring about anything,” she added.
Iman has escaped Elbara from the Safti district of northern Gaza a year ago with her husband, 63-year-old Khaled and the rest of her children, and has endured five difficulties since.
“We don’t have the energy left to handle anything. Trump and his statement,” Khaled said. “The Gaza people are drowning in postwar grief, illness and hardship. They don’t even have the ability to think about what will come next.”
The couple strongly rejected Trump’s evacuation plan. “We already regret leaving the North despite being kicked out at the muzzle. Do they really think we’ll follow Trump now?”
Iman recalled that during the war, many displaced people around her spoke about leaving Gaza if given a chance. “But it was only out of pure despair,” she said.
“In spite of everything, the people of Gaza are still coming back to life in this land, despite the whole world fighting against us for reasons we don’t understand,” she adds.
“Even if they offered me a mansion, millions and gorgeous home, I will not leave Gaza.
When asked about the timing of Trump’s statement, Khaled exploded with anger.
“Timing? What timing? We’re barely awake from this war!” he said. “People are still pulling their loved ones’ bodies from the tile rub. They are still cleaning their wreckage houses and looking for signs of life.”
“This world has lost all human senses.”
“I’ll leave you with the first chance I can get.”
In contrast, 23-year-old Mahmoud Abu Ouda runs a small coffee and tea stand at Deir El-Balah and says he wants to leave the strip as soon as possible.
“In the end, Trump will force us from Gaza, just as people were forced from the north to the south during the war,” Mahmoud said.
“When they open the intersection of Rafa (with Egypt), a huge number of people will soon leave. I’ll be the first to go.”
For Mahmoud, the unbearable pressure in Gaza after the war becomes unthinkable. “This is not life. There is no life here. There is nothing left in this country to protect us after the war.”
Mahmoud wants to leave Gaza, but he rejects the idea of being kicked out, but he also does not see an alternative.
“We’re always forced,” he said. “We were forced to flee from the north to the south. We endured war against our will. We endured bombing against our will. We had no choice.”
“If leaving is the solution to our problem, let’s go,” he continued.
“If they prepare for home, work and real life for us, let’s go and end the Gaza story.”
Mahmoud told Al Jazeera that his view represents a significant portion of Gaza youth who suffered so much during the war.
“Our future has been destroyed. I’m responsible for six families. I couldn’t get a university degree. I work for poor wages all day. Our home was bombed We were evacuated.”
“Is this the life of a young man in his twenties, or an old man in his 90s?” he asked desperately.
“Gaza will never see peace. Gaza is dead,” he said, making it clear that Trump was serious about his threat.
“Psychological Wars”
Mahmoud’s friend Amir Taleb agreed that life in Gaza would not bear after the war, but opposed the idea of exchanging the right to stay in Gaza for a better life with the promise of forced displacement or reconstruction. I did.
“Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric is pushing forward many of us who once thought to leave to change our plans.
“Those who are rational and self-esteem don’t accept this. We’re not conquered by Trump or anyone else who is manipulated as they want.”
Amir told Al Jazeera that he left Gaza four years ago and moved to Belgium without intending to return.
“Even though I have friends and family there, I have not been able to stay there for more than a year,” he admitted.
He returned to Gaza and opened a small clothing store.
“It’s difficult to live in exile and for us in Gaza, we’re never guaranteed to return. We don’t have the privilege of going back and forth as we please. So, there’s a lot. People choose to stay despite everything,” Amir added.
“The Arabs and Islamic countries must oppose Trump’s plans,” Amir said. “This is a psychological and moral war against us in every sense.”
