The ideal of remaining on one’s land despite threats of expulsion is at the heart of the Palestinians’ struggle and self-identity, and was on vivid display last week when hundreds of thousands returned to northern Gaza despite its near-total destruction.

Once more, it’s impossible to tell whether Donald Trump is serious — or, if he is, whether he knows how to make his radical ambitions real.

But neither they nor anyone else could have predicted President Donald Trump’s astonishing plan to end their misery: the eviction of the entire Palestinian population and a full American takeover to redevelop Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.