Letters to the editor: our readers share their views. Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk. Benjamin Netanyahu said that Donald Trump was “thinking outside the box with fresh ideas” and “showing willingness to puncture conventional thinking” when he suggested the US could resettle Palestinians in Jordan and Egypt and redevelop Gaza ("World recoils from Trump plan to ‘take over’ Gaza and push out Palestinians", Thursday 6 February).
I wonder if Mr Netanyahu will now also think outside the box and offer to house Palestinians while the Gaza Strip is rebuilt?. Kartar Uppal. Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. Trump’s suggestion to resettle the Palestinian population of Gaza elsewhere should not be dismissed out of hand, in my view. I see some merit in it – provided they are given suitable land and accommodation elsewhere in Palestine. The obvious answer is the entirety of the West Bank.
Simply evict all of the Israeli settlers from their current illegally built settlements and relocate them to Gaza, on purpose-built properties paid for by the United States – thereby solving the problem of settler violence on Palestinians and creating a Palestinian state at a stroke. They could even rename Gaza “Trumptown” in honour of the great leader. A Nobel Peace Prize would be a shoo-in. Geoff Penn.
Attleborough, Norfolk. Like almost everyone, I was shocked at President Trump’s thoughts on Gaza and, potentially, the West Bank ("Arab world rejects Trump’s plan for US to 'take over' Gaza and relocate Palestinians", Wednesday 5 February). I seem to remember that, during his first term, Trump seemed to support the concept of a two-state solution. The thought of relocating a million and more people and annexing the territory to create a Mediterranean resort is, surely, both a humanitarian and logistical non-sequitur.
But hold on! If the apparent support for an independent Palestinian state, the proposed relocation of millions of people, the annexation of Gaza, and a limited appreciation of geography coincides with Trump’s other foreign policy priorities, is this why Trump has his eyes on Greenland?. John Driver. Bromyard, Herefordshire. I know that, in a democracy, whether we like it or not, we have to accept what the majority voted for. But still, how is it possible that just 31.4 per cent of the American electorate can give seemingly absolute power to a man who could be so dangerous for the rest of the world?.
If Donald Trump’s election impacted only the United States, we could just all quietly laugh and let them get on with it. But the evidence grows every day that having him in power is the same as having elected “the man down the pub”. You know the man – he knows a little bit about some stuff, but that’s enough for him to loudly crow his opinions on everything, to all and sundry. Does Trump really have a deep understanding of what his plan for Gaza would mean? Does he have even the remotest clue about the understandable depth of feeling among Palestinians about their land and homes? Doesn’t he have rational advisers who can reel him in?.
Seemingly not. He is like a destructive child that governments everywhere have to pander to. Some people say he is a decisive, “strongman” leader. It’s easy to be a strongman when you don’t care about the impact your pronouncements have on anyone else, even your own people. History is full of such leaders, and none of them were good for the wider world, or even their own countries. I think that in years to come, many people will look back at this time and think: “How could we possibly have supported or pandered to this clown?”.
John Maxwell. Bournemouth, Dorset. Trump likes a deal. He wants Gaza to develop into a holiday resort. Will he offer the Palestinians Florida in exchange?. Dave Thomas. Bristol. Surely it is the UN, rather than the US, that should be taking the lead in the reconstruction of Gaza?. Andrew McLuskey. Ashford, Middlesex. Canada, Mexico, Greenland and now Gaza are lands that Trump wants to steal and add on to America. President Trump is half-Scottish. Scotland is lovely, and very popular with golfers.
I’d advise the Scots to watch their backs. Penny Little. Great Haseley, Oxfordshire. I believe Edward Thomas (Your View: “Far rights and wrongs”, Tuesday 4 February) has misunderstood the figures concerning child grooming. The Office for National Statistics states that 88 per cent of child abuse defendants were White British, who represent 83 per cent of the population – whereas 7 per cent of defendants were of Asian background, from 9 per cent of the population.
