PLO official says Trump ‘expulsion’ plan will not bring peace, threatens to cut ties with US

Senior Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Council member, Ahmed Majdalani, said the Palestinian Authority (PA) will cut ties with the United States if President Donald Trump moves forward with his proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip, relocate its residents, and turn the area into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” 

In an interview with the Times of Israel, Majdalani said Trump’s proposal for Gaza represents an "existential threat” to the Palestinian cause with its call for the “expulsion” of the Strip’s residents. 

When asked repeatedly whether the Palestinian Authority would sever ties with the U.S., Majdalani answered, “Of course.” 

“Why would we have ties if Mr. Trump sticks to this proposal?” he said. 

He also said that Trump’s idea “is not the right way to achieve stability and peace and security in the region.” 

Majdalani’s statement, calling the Trump plan an existential threat, is similar to remarks he made on Tuesday during a meeting of the Central Committee, when he stated that the Palestinian cause faces “existential challenges that require a unified Arab position to confront them.” 

Those comments followed the announcement about the adoption of the Egyptian proposal for Gaza by the emergency Arab summit in Cairo, which had been called for the express purpose of offering a counter-proposal to the Trump plan. 

Majdalani said, “The Trump-Netanyahu project is not limited to destroying the two-state solution, but seeks to reshape the demographic and geopolitical map in the Middle East, in a way that serves Israeli and American interests within the framework of a new regional order.” 

In his remarks at the committee meeting, Majdalani praised the Egyptian proposal, and called for the Arab nations to quickly implement the plan. 

While Majdalani supported the Egyptian proposal, he also stressed that "the next day in Gaza is a Palestinian decision led by Palestinian legitimacy in partnership with our Arab brothers.” The PA has stated its willingness to assume governing responsibility for the Gaza Strip after a permanent ceasefire.

The Israeli government opposes PA rule over Gaza, citing its financial support for terrorists in prison and the families of those killed while attempting to carry out terror attacks. 

The threat by a PA official to cut ties with the U.S. is not without precedent. During Trump’s first term, after he moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and supported a peace plan which would see Israel annex much of Judea and Samaria, the PA gradually cut ties with Washington. 

The move proved to be ineffective, with Trump sidelining the Palestinians shortly thereafter, when he announced the Abraham Accords. The threat of severing communication, while offering little actual impact, represents one of the few avenues for the PA to make a show of standing up to the U.S. in the eyes of the Palestinian population. 

Majdalani drew criticism from some in the Palestinian society after he accused Hamas of harming the cause of the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip, due to the Oct. 7 attack. 

In an interview with Voice of Palestine radio in January, Majdalani said, “Today, the Gaza Strip has gone back 100 years after this military adventure that harmed the Palestinian cause, and inflicted woes on our people, who will pay for it for decades.” 

While criticizing Hamas, he indicated that the PA is willing to stand firm on the issue, maintaining Palestinian control of Gaza. He also indicated that the threat of cutting ties is only based on the threat of expulsion of the Gaza residents. 

“We are ready today and tomorrow to positively cooperate with Mr. Trump and his administration, if he renounces and forgets his idea about taking over Gaza and expelling of its residents en masse,” Majdalani stated. 

The PA official rejected even a temporary evacuation of Gaza residents, stating, “For us, it is not acceptable to move the residents of Gaza – not temporarily and not permanently.” 

“If [Trump] thinks that there will be regional peace with Israeli normalization alongside the mass expulsion of Gaza’s residents and the annexation of the West Bank, he is wrong,” Majdalani told the Times of Israel.