Axios: 145 Democratic Representatives Call on Trump to retract his plan to takeover Gaza
Axios website reported that 145 Democratic members of the US House of Representatives sent a letter to President Donald Trump, demanding that he retract his dangerous statements in which he revealed a plan for the United States to seize the Gaza Strip.
According to Axios, the representatives who signed the letter represent about two-thirds of the 215 Democratic members of the House of Representatives.
In the letter, the lawmakers expressed their shock at a call by a US president for the permanent forced displacement of two million Palestinians in Gaza.
The signatories of the letter, who represent a third of the 435-member House of Representatives, warned that the move wasn’t only immoral, but would harm America’s standing globally, put American forces at risk, and increase terrorist threats.
They also noted that Trump’s move could hamper the United States’ chances of cooperating with its Arab partners to rebuild Gaza and find a peaceful solution to the conflict with Israel.
The letter’s signing drive was led by Reps. Sean Casten of Illinois and Brad Sherman of California.
Despite the initial optimism that prevailed around the world due to pressure from Trump that facilitated reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, including a prisoner exchange deal, on January 19, the latter’s completely biased positions towards Israel after he officially assumed his duties one day later led to this optimism turning into pessimism.
One of the most prominent of these positions was his announcement during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 4 of the United States’ intention to seize Gaza after displacing the Palestinians abroad, especially to Egypt and Jordan, which was met with widespread rejection at the Palestinian, Arab and international levels.
The plan has also drawn criticism from lawmakers in both parties in the United States, with some Republicans expressing dismay at the idea, saying its unworkable and inconsistent with Trump’s stated policy of non-military intervention abroad.
