UN Expert: Trump Supports Worse Than Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, strongly criticized President Donald Trump’s recent proposal for a U.S. takeover and mass expulsion of the native population of the Gaza Strip. She described the proposal as being even more severe than ethnic cleansing.

“Where do we even begin with President Trump?” Albanese expressed in dismay during a speech in Copenhagen on Wednesday, dismissing the president’s plan as complete folly.

“What he is suggesting is illegal,” she emphasized. “It goes beyond ethnic cleansing. This is an incitement to forced displacement, a crime under international law.”

“Moreover, within the framework of a genocide, this would only serve to enhance the participation in the ongoing offenses that Israel has committed over the past 15 months and previously,” Albanese added.

Her condemnation was a reaction to statements made by Trump during a Tuesday press conference at the White House alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces charges from the International Criminal Court—a body that Trump sanctioned the following Thursday. Trump declared, “The U.S. will take control of the Gaza Strip” after effectively clearing out most of its indigenous Palestinian residents.

“We will take possession,” Trump stated, further noting that “we plan to develop the area” and transform Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

The Palestinian community strongly opposed Trump’s proposal, while Netanyahu mentioned that Israel would consider the plan.

“This plan is illegal, unethical, and reckless,” stated Albanese on Wednesday. “It will only exacerbate the crisis in the region.”

Trump reiterated his intentions in a post on his Truth Social platform early Thursday morning.

“After the conflict ends, Gaza would be handed over to the United States by Israel,” he claimed. “People like Chuck Schumer and the Palestinians would have been relocated to much safer and more attractive communities, equipped with new, modern houses in the region. They would actually get a chance to live happily, safely, and freely.”

The context of Trump’s mention of Chuck Schumer, the Democratic U.S. senator from New York, remains unclear.

Israel, established 77 years ago following the ethnic cleansing of over 750,000 Palestinians, has faced accusations of aiming to permanently displace Gazans—many of whom are descendants of the 1948 expulsion survivors—to pave the way for new Jewish settlements in the coastal region.

“Only the Palestinians have the right to decide on the reconstruction of Gaza.”

Trump has suggested moving the Gazan population to Egypt and Jordan, a proposal that contravenes the Fourth Geneva Convention and has been rejected by Palestinians, Egyptians, and Jordanians alike.

While the term ethnic cleansing, originated during the late 20th-century Balkan conflicts, is not specifically classified as a crime under international law, the genocide case led by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice includes charges related to the forced displacement of approximately 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.

“These people are genocide survivors who need assistance before we even consider who will rebuild Gaza,” Albanese remarked in Copenhagen. “The decision of how Gaza should be reconstructed belongs solely to the Palestinians.”