The recent statements made by Jared Kushner, the senior foreign policy adviser under Trump’s presidency, regarding Gaza’s waterfront during his interview at Harvard University on 15 February 2024 are disappointing. Koshner’s remarks “[1] suggest the forced displacement of the Palestinian population in the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip and the denial of the Palestinian right to their own Palestinian state; his statements also demonstrate a deep lack of understanding of the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Kushner referring to Gaza’s waterfront property as a commodity is alarming as he ignores the humanitarian crisis and suffering endured by the Palestinian people living in Gaza Strip since the 7th of October 2023 and even before that date where the Gaza Strip has been under the Israeli Siege for 17 years and Israel maintained exclusive control of Gaza’s airspace and territorial waters/borders; and even restricted the entry of construction materials, chemicals, machinery, and spare parts. The focus of the international community (whether by Individuals or Bodies) should be addressing the root cause of the conflict and easing if not ending the suffering of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip rather than treating Gaza as a real estate project.
Kushner’s suggestion to forcibly displace Palestinian civilians from the Gaza Strip to the Negev desert is not only impractical but also morally unacceptable. It is essential to respect the rights and dignity of all Palestinians, and any future peace agreement/proposal/initiative that involves forced displacement goes against fundamental human rights principles. Article 49 – Deportations, transfers, evacuations of the fourth Geneva convention of 1949 states that: “Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive. Nevertheless, the Occupying Power may undertake total or partial evacuation of a given area if the security of the population or imperative military reasons so demand. Such evacuations may not involve the displacement of protected persons outside the bounds of the occupied territory except when for material reasons it is impossible to avoid such displacement. Persons thus evacuated shall be transferred back to their homes as soon as hostilities in the area in question have ceased.[2]
Kushner’s deliberate denial of the Palestinian right to a Palestinian State is deeply concerning and undermines the longstanding international efforts on a two-state solution as the only solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because it envisions the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state alongside an Israeli State, based on the borders of 1967. Thus, denying Palestinians their right to self-determination is not only unjust but also harmful to achieving a lasting peace.
Under the Oslo Accords agreement – signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) 21 years ago on September 13, 1993 – the two sides agreed the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be treated as a “single territorial unit, whose integrity will be preserved”[3]. However, Kushner’s statement is considered interfering with and undermining the Oslo Accords and may sidestep key political and territorial issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such as Jerusalem, borders, settlements, water and refugees. Any efforts to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be in line with existing agreements, including the Oslo Accords, and should prioritize a comprehensive political solution that addresses the aspirations and rights of the Palestinians.
- [1] Gaza’s waterfront property could be “very valuable” and Israel could “move the people out, and then clean it up,” Forbes, March 24, 2024
- [2] Geneva Convention (IV) on Civilians, 1949, Article 49 – Deportations, transfers, evacuations.
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/article-49#:~:text=12%20August%201949.-,Article%2049%20%2D%20Deportations%2C%20transfers%2C%20evacuations,prohibited%2C%20regardless%20of%20their%20motive. - [3] Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (Oslo Accords), Article IV, Jurisidiction
Declaration of Principles on Interim self- Government arrangements, September 13, 1993
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
