Kuala Lampur, Jan. 29 -- On a recent Sunday, as if plucked from the depths of an ancient imperial playbook, US President Donald Trump unveiled a plan that might have made even the colonial masters of old blush. With the audacity of a man unburdened by the nuances of historical context, he proposed relocating one and a half million Palestinians from the cramped corridors of Gaza to the sands of Jordan or Egypt - part of a broader scheme to "just clean out" the enclave. Adding a twist to the tale, his envoy, Steve Witkoff, floated the idea of moving a portion of Gaza's populace as far as Indonesia, an archipelago with little to no historical ties to the Palestinians.

This blueprint for displacement found an echo in the words of Israel's fo...