When President Donald Trump first floated the idea of moving the Palestinians away from Gaza, the entire notion was largely dismissed as “Trump being Trump.” In particular, the foreign policy “experts” brushed it aside as a silly idea, something they placed in the same category as “buying Greenland” or “taking back the Panama Canal.” But no more, not after yesterday afternoon’s formal public announcement, made as part of a joint public meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This time around, Trump clearly means to be taken seriously, particularly given that he went so far as to offer U.S. forces to manage and rebuild Gaza. It’s also evident that he means that, once the Palestinians are gone, they’re never coming back, that his proposal is meant to resolve the nearly eight-decade-long conflict that has repeatedly roiled the Middle East. Trump wants to make it happen, and he has placed his personal stamp and the authority of his presidency on the line to see that it does. …

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