Palestinians refer to their 1948 expulsion as the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe. Some 700,000 Palestinians — a majority of the prewar population — fled or were driven from their homes before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that followed Israel’s establishment.

The Oslo negotiations of the 1990s rejected the notion of removing Palestinians from Gaza. In fact, keeping the refugees in Gaza was central to the premise of a two-state solution. At the same time, questions over the right of refugees to return to their original homelands in what is now Israel were shelved.

President Donald Trump is suggesting that some 2 million Palestinians be moved out of Gaza and that the area become a resort development, “the riviera of the Middle East.” The Conversation talked to Ma’an Odah,

Stunned Palestinians rejected President Donald Trump's proposal to expel them from the Gaza Strip so that the U.S. could take over the territory and rebuild it for others.

President Donald Trump proposed the United States take a “long-term ownership position” over Gaza and permanently displace its residents. Hamas condemned the proposal.

Trump, who was to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, first floated the suggestion of displacing Palestinians from Gaza on Jan. 25 by urging Egypt and Jordan take in more people.