It is hard to keep track of the number of international crimes being proposed in Washington as a response to the destruction of Gaza. There are solid arguments to be made that President Donald Trump’s “plan” for the United States to “own” Gaza, transform it into a “Middle East Riviera”, and move Palestinians into neighbouring Arab states would require committing every core international crime under international law: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and the crime of aggression. It also erases the atrocities that led to the levelling of Gaza. Trump’s thinking must be resisted lest it normalize atrocity crimes.

Trump’s “plan” has now been endorsed by right-wing politicians in Israel and called the “first good idea I’ve heard” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Here is a snapshot of the international crimes that would be committed if it was implemented.

Gazans have every legal right to stay in Gaza. Moving Gaza’s population would constitute a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which prohibits the deportation or forcible transfer of a population. It is important to note that force does not always have to be by way of guns or bombs. It can come in various forms, like threats to violence or coercion. It is likewise worth noting that crimes against humanity need to be widespread or systematic; in the case of Trump’s plan the forcible transfer of Gazans to countries in the region would be both.

By removing Palestinians from their land, the depopulation of Gaza would also constitute ethnic cleansing. Ethnic cleansing is not, in and of itself, an international crime. But it is a harbinger for genocide. In order to ethnically cleanse a territory of its population, that population almost certainly must be destroyed in whole or in part. It is important to emphasize that the theft and colonization of land is among the most common motivations for genocide. It motivated the Nazis who sought to expel Jews and others from European territories to make way for a German “Lebensraum” and it motivated Canada’s genocide against Indigenous peoples. 

In proposing that the United States take over Gaza, Trump is also putting forward a plan to illegally invade a sovereign state. While some states, like my native Canada, may not recognize Palestine (despite repeatedly saying it would), 140 states do. Palestinian statehood is a legal fact under international law. Invading another state without legal basis is a crime. By taking over Gaza, Trump would be joining his friend Vladimir Putin as two leaders who committed the crime of aggression in recent years.

Finally, the “plan” would involve the commission of war crimes. While there is a ceasefire in place, Israel and Palestine remain at war. According to international law, and per the International Court of Justice, Gaza remains occupied by Israel under international humanitarian law. Under the Rome Statute, it would be a war crime for Israel, as an Occupying Power, to transfer any part of its population into Gaza or to deport Gaza’s civilian population outside of its territory.

The above is far from an exhaustive list. It offers just some of the international crimes that would be committed if Trump’s plan was implemented. Ironically, for a government so terrified of coming under the scrutiny of the ICC that it is seeking to issue sanctions against the Court, the White House’s “plan” almost begs the ICC to investigate American conduct in Gaza.

The White House’s proposal also erases the atrocities that have been committed in Gaza and led to its destruction. Perhaps the cruellest facet of Trump’s “plan” is that it offers as a remedy to the “demolition” of Gaza the annihilation it of its character and citizenry. Rather than address the international crimes that led to the destruction of Gaza, Trump is proposing that a litany of other atrocities be committed, atrocities that would permanently destroy Gaza as a sovereign Palestinian territory. In doing so, Trump seeks to erase any calls to hold perpetrators – whether Hamas or Israeli – for the atrocities that brought us to now. No wonder that when Trump announced his proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – charged by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Gaza – could do little but smile. Trump’s plan offers him impunity.

None of this can help the cause of peace. It can only inspire violence. Atrocities breed atrocities. Armed groups and terrorists use the crimes committed against civilians as recruitment material. Rather than offering hope for a life of dignity, Trump and Netanyahu have given terrorists another tool to convince young Gazans that their only choice is further violence. The upshot is that, even if the “plan” isn’t implemented, it will have consequences, some of which will make a lasting peace more difficult.

The consequences of Trump’s proposal should reach farther than the Middle East. Citizens of Western countries too should be appalled. European and Canadian soldiers fought alongside Americans in numerous wars, including in Afghanistan. Canadian citizens provided refuge to American citizens after the heinous attacks of 9/11. For that, Western countries live under the threat of tariffs. Netanyahu, on the other hand, is wanted by the ICC for, among other things, intentionally starving civilians in Gaza. Despite that, he received the red carpet in Washington.

International law and the basic protections its offers civilians are under sustained threat. Everything must be done to avoid normalizing atrocity crimes as mere ‘policy’ or ‘plans’. That starts with calling international crimes out for what they are.