Trump can’t erase us: Palestinians will rebuild, but we’ll never leave our land
5 February 2025, 15:01
It is shocking to see Trump casually discuss the destruction and death in Gaza while standing next to the man responsible for it.
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My family are part of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have returned home in the wake of the destruction but rather than being given a moment to grieve and process they are faced with the question: will they rebuild their lives only to be kicked out again?
The past 15 months have seen the Palestinian people continually dehumanised again and again. Even though the genocide has stopped it’s disheartening, if not surprising, to see this is set to continue. We are not a herd of sheep to be put anywhere else in the world.
What Trump should realise is that despite the horror Israel has inflicted on us, the people of Gaza have refused to leave their land and this will always be true. There is nothing Trump or anyone else can do to force them out. Which is why his proposal isn’t just unrealistic; it’s a call for ethnic cleansing.
The reality is the Palestinian people have, and continue to, create life from nothing. Despite the complete destruction the kids are still learning. Lessons are held in completely burnt down classrooms, exams are taken online in tents. We have much to be proud of - not least our education. We have some of the best universities in the Middle East, the oldest libraries, more PHD holders per capita and Trump should take note we have a higher literacy rate than in the USA
Our education is something that gives me hope in spite of such impunity for Israel. I have long since given up on leaders, like the current president of the US, but if the world is to truly become a better place we need solutions - one that sees an end to the occupation and says that the world won’t tolerate such horrors.
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Ahmed Najar is a political economist, writer, and playwright based in London.
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