MADRID - No one is surprised anymore by Donald Trump’s theatrics, his evident narcissism, or his continuous out-of-place statements. However, his latest remarks on the Gaza Strip have reached such a level of extravagance that it is impossible not to question the former president’s mental state.

In yet another display of his baffling worldview, Trump, embracing his role as a real estate mogul, has suggested that the two million Palestinians living in Gaza be expelled to transform the region into a luxury resort, with the ambition of turning it into what he has described as the "Riviera of the Middle East."

Trump’s statements go beyond his usual outbursts. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has already taken concrete steps to position himself and profit from the "reconstruction" of Gaza, backed by Saudi capital. A year ago, during a talk at Harvard, Kushner hinted at his vision for the region’s future: "Waterfront properties in Gaza could be very valuable... if people focused on developing livelihoods." He then added bluntly, "It’s a bit of an unfortunate situation there, but from Israel’s perspective, I would do everything possible to get people out and then clean the place up."

Trump’s remarks, made during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House, were equally shocking. At one point, the former president told reporters that Palestinians should not return to Gaza because "why would they want to go back? That place has been hell," while standing next to the man who, ironically, made it so.

Trump’s proposal for "relocation" is nothing more than a call for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians—an idea that, unsurprisingly, has received immediate support from the Israeli colonial government and the media. In this context, The Jerusalem Post published an opinion column on February 1 by Martin Oliner, president of Religious Zionists of America and a Trump-appointed board member of the U.S.

Holocaust Memorial Council. In his article, Oliner not only defended Trump’s plan for Gaza but also argued that all Gaza residents bore collective responsibility for the attack carried out by Hamas during its "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation.

This perspective highlights another key issue: colonialism and imperialism are histories of territorial predation. Trump’s bluster about the Panama Canal or Greenland is merely a reflection of America’s deep-seated imperialism. Meanwhile, Zionist occupation in Palestine has always centered on territorial control, particularly through the expulsion of the native Palestinian population.

Zionism has historically been a settler-colonial ideology, a reality explicitly acknowledged by its architects. A clear example is Russian Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky, who played a key role in the colonization of Palestine. In 1923, Jabotinsky wrote:

"Every indigenous people will resist foreign settlers as long as they see any hope of ridding themselves of the danger of foreign settlement. That is what the Arabs in Palestine are doing, and they will continue to do so as long as there is a spark of hope that they can prevent Palestine from becoming the Land of Israel."

"[…] Zionist colonization, even the most limited, must either be terminated or carried out in defiance of the will of the native population."

It is evident that Gaza needs to be rebuilt. Nearly two-thirds of its structures—including apartment buildings, schools, mosques, hospitals, and shops—have been demolished or destroyed, leaving behind 42 million tons of rubble. Without an ambitious and long-term reconstruction plan, the people of Gaza will never be able to live even a minimally dignified life. However, Gaza’s reconstruction must not come at the cost of the forced expulsion of its Palestinian population, thereby repeating the tragedy of the 1948 Nakba. The reality of the Nakba as an ongoing process has never been clearer than it is now.

Trump’s words once again expose his imperialist vision, which disregards both the Palestinian people and their deep connection to their land. His proposal focuses solely on expulsion, cloaked in the euphemism of “relocation.”

This ethnic cleansing is not only promoted by Trump and his real estate-driven vision but is also shared by the Israeli government, the opposition, Israeli academics, and ordinary citizens. Ultimately, this has always been the fundamental goal of Zionism and the Israeli state: to expel the Palestinian people and seize their land.

What do Palestinians say? Imad al-Qassas, a 60-year-old father of six, was displaced from eastern Deir el-Balah to the city center, where he now lives in a tent. When asked by Al Jazeera about Trump’s proposal, he responded: “I would rather die where I am. Even if they cut me and my children into pieces, I will not leave.”

As I noted in a recent article, the so-called “relocation” of Palestinians—essentially a form of ethnic cleansing promoted by Trump and backed by Israel—will not succeed. Having failed to achieve their objectives through genocide, Israel and its supporters will find that Palestinians will continue to resist. They will not abandon their land, nor will they sever the deep political and cultural ties that bind them to it. Their resistance to expulsion, coupled with their steadfast attachment to their homeland, has endured through decades of dispossession and displacement. These elements only strengthen the Palestinian people's determination to remain on their land, despite ongoing efforts to impose solutions that seek to strip them of their right to self-determination.