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Trump wants the United States to “take on” gas and move people. Is it legal?

Trump wants the United States to “take on” gas and move people. Is it legal?

At a wonderful press conference in Washington US President Donald Trump proposed The United States “take over” the lane of the gases and forever move almost two million Palestinians who live there to neighboring countries.

Trump has earlier About Egypt and Jordan to relocate Palestinians from gases that firmly both countries deflected.

His new comments – and the possibility of absorption of sovereign territory – immediately met criticism And the question of the legality of such a step.

When asked what authority will allow the US to do this, Trump did not answer. He only noted that it would be a “long -term position”. He is too did not exclude The use of us troops.

So, what does the international right about this idea say?

Can the US take on a sovereign territory?

Quick answer – no – Trump can’t just take on another’s territory.

Since the end of World War II in 1945, the use of force has been prohibited in international law. This is one of the basics of international law since the creation of the UN.

The United States could only take control of gas with the consent of the sovereign authority of the territory. Israel cannot transfer gas to the United States. The International Court has rule that Gaza is an occupied territory – and that this lesson is illegal under international legislation.

Therefore, to happen legally, Trump will require Palestinian and Palestinian people to take control of gas.

The Palestinians began to break through the rubble to their homes in Gaza after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Mohammed Saber/EPA

What about the removal of the population?

One of the greatest obligations of occupying power comes Article 49 of Geneva Conventions. This prohibits occupying power forcibly transfer or remove people from the territory.

All other states are also obliged not to assist the occupying power in violation of international humanitarian law. This means that if the United States wanted to move the Gaza population by force, Israel could not assist in this action. And the US cannot help Israel in violation of the rules.

Occupying the authority is allowed to eliminate the population due to safety.

Trump and his messenger in the Middle East that visited the gas last week Repeatedly refers How dangerous it is. Trump asked how people could “want to stay there”, saying that they had no “alternative” except to go.

However, the removal of people for this reason should only be temporary. Once someone returns, they must be returned.

What if people voluntarily leave?

The transfer of the population should be consensus. But in this particular case, it will mean the consent of all Palestinians in gas. The US could not force someone to move, who doesn’t want it.

Further, the government, such as the Palestinian authorities, cannot give this consent on behalf of the people. People have the right to determine their own future.

A great example is migration – if a person migrates from one state to another, it is their right. This is not a movement. But forcibly to displace them is forbidden.

And the use of what sounds like a threat may not be consensus. This may say, for example, “If you stay, you die because there will be only more war. But if you go, there is peace.” It’s a threat of strength.

Would people leave ethnic purification?

Ethnic purification is not defined in any treaty or convention.

However, most international law experts are entrusted to the experts on the former state of Yugoslavia in the UN Security Council in 1994. determined Ethnic purification as:

Giving the region ethnically homogeneous by force or intimidation to remove persons from the given groups from the area.

Therefore, according to this definition, what is proposed by Trump could be classified as an ethnic purification – the removal of the Palestinian people from a certain geographical area through force or intimidation.

The displaced Palestinians arrive to the city of Gaza from their camps in the southern part of the enclave.
Mohammed Saber/EPA

What can be done if Trump goes through?

If Trump adheres to this plan, it would be a violation of what is known as jus cogensOr the most important, basic rules that underlie international law.

And international law dictates that no country is allowed to cooperate with others in violation of these rules, and all countries should try to stop or prevent any potential violations. This may include sanctions on the country or not support this country, such as selling its weapons.

The ideal example of this is when Russia is illegally added to Crimea in 2014, very few countries have recognized this step. Full -scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 Freezing Russian assetsAmong other actions.

If Trump has followed this course of action, it can also be personally responsible for international criminal law if it is those who pushed the forcible transfer of the population.

International Criminal Court already issued warrants for arrest For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhah, former Defense Minister of Israel and Commander Hamas regarding conflict.

The risk of this kind of language

One of the dangers of this kind of rhetoric is the potential of dehumanizing the enemy or the other side.

Trump does this through assertion For example, “You look for decades, it’s all death in gas” and the relocation of people in “nice homes where they can be happy” and not “not”closed to death”. This language means that the situation in gas is explained by the “non -civilized” nature of the population.

At the moment, the risk, even if Trump does not do what he says, is that the simple vocalization of his proposal is dehumanized to the Palestinian people. And this, in turn, can lead to more violations of the rules of war and international humanitarian law.

Trump’s unhaping way discusses things such as taking over the territory and movement of the population, which gives the impression that these rules can be easily disturbed, even if it does not violate them.