'Existence is resistance': Palestinians tell Trump they won't leave Gaza

In November 2023, 30-year-old Aya Hassouna left her home in Shejaiya, east of Gaza City, with her husband and two young children, joining the ranks of Palestinian refugees heading south. At the time, Israel's brutal attacks on the Gaza Strip were escalating, forcing large numbers of people to flee their homes. The increasing violence made the decision to evacuate a necessity for survival.

However, Hassouna was ultimately the only survivor of her family, embarking on a painful journey back home alone. Hassouna told Middle East Eye that her children, Hamza and Raghad, just four and two years old respectively, were killed along with their father in an Israeli bombing in Khan Younis nearly eight months ago. The loss of her family has been an unbearable burden for her to carry.

Hassouna stated that her family had the opportunity to escape to Egypt through the Rafah crossing, but they refused, fearing that they would never be able to return if they left. She also turned down opportunities to work abroad after losing her husband. Now, Hassouna wants to say something to Donald Trump, who this week proposed moving Palestinians out of Gaza and giving ownership of the territory to the United States. Her firm stance reflects a deep connection to her homeland.

"Even after all of this, I still refuse to leave," she said. "We have just experienced a war. The occupiers tried to drive the people of Gaza into the Sinai Peninsula. But despite the siege, genocide, destruction, and starvation, they cannot drive us away." Last month, Hassouna was once again on the road, this time marching north with hundreds of thousands of others after Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement. The collective determination to return underscores the resilience of the Gazan people.

Initially, she and her sister hoped to drive north, but after being stuck in traffic for a day and a night, she decided to walk. "I walked among the crowds. The road was tiring, especially when you see the destruction and the bodies on the side of the road with your own eyes. When you see the suffering of others, you forget your own difficulties. As soon as the roads opened, people flocked back north. We don't value Trump's statements. We are holding onto our land." The shared experience of hardship fostered a sense of community and resolve.

Mohammed Abdul-Majeed, in his 30s, also returned to northern Gaza to see what was left of his home in the Jabalia refugee camp. Majeed is a descendant of Palestinians displaced from within modern-day Israel in the 1948 events Palestinians call the "Nakba" (catastrophe). Majeed stated: "Trump's comments are a continuation of systematic war crimes against the Palestinian people. He wants to harm them and perpetuate historical injustices by displacing them." His words highlight the intergenerational trauma and the ongoing struggle for justice.

"I returned alone to check my house. I found that the entire area had been completely wiped out." Majeed accused the American president of harboring a "thief's mentality." "His first thought is of investment and money, instead of thinking about a person's right to live a decent life, instead of thinking about the tormented, orphaned, and injured children of Gaza." The devastation he witnessed underscores the human cost of the conflict.

Muhammad Quq, a writer and political researcher in the occupied West Bank, also dismissed Trump's comments. He believes that these comments may be intended to provoke a reaction from Arab countries and potentially draw them into discussions about the future of Gaza and who should pay for Gaza's emergency reconstruction. "I think what Trump is doing is trying to raise the ceiling of achievement," he said. "He is saying: 'You don't want me to expel or occupy Gaza. So you have to do this: enter Gaza with Arab forces and move towards normalizing relations with Israel.'" Quq's analysis suggests a strategic motive behind Trump's statements.

However, Quq stated that the image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing alongside Trump at a White House press conference represents a failure for Israel. "Even after all these months of support, he had to come and beg the Americans to help him, ultimately failing to defeat Hamas or the Palestinian people." "The attempt to implement a new map of the Middle East began in Gaza and failed in Gaza because the Palestinians will not be displaced." This perspective frames the situation as a setback for Israeli objectives.

Hana Amuri, a political activist based in Jaffa, stated that Trump's comments shocked Palestinians living in Israel because they touched on their own fears and insecurities about displacement. "As for whether this marks the beginning of the displacement of Palestinians, this began in 1948 and is still continuing," Amuri said. "Displacement is a sword hanging over the head of every Palestinian. Existence is a form of resistance, and Israel is well aware of this." Her words emphasize the ongoing threat of displacement and the importance of steadfastness.

Israel's war in Gaza, the brutal treatment of Palestinian prisoners, the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, and the continued attacks on the Jenin refugee camp are all acts of force aimed at breaking the will of the Palestinians, she said. But she warned that grand plans promising economic development, prosperity, and "normalization"—such as those proposed by Trump—also pose a threat to Palestinian identity. Amuri said: "Israel seems to be telling the Palestinians: 'Come, prosper as individuals, live your own lives, but forget collective needs, national identity, and the right to self-determination.'" This highlights the complex challenges facing Palestinians in preserving their identity and pursuing their collective goals.