Global divide over Gaza escalates as U.S., BRICS clash on Israel’s plans

• U.S.-Israel talks intensify as Netanyahu presents Gaza depopulation plan, facing global condemnation.
• BRICS nations denounce U.S.-backed military actions, aligning with Global South against Western hegemony.
• Human rights groups condemn Gaza proposals as “ethnic cleansing” and “concentration camps.”
• Geopolitical tensions escalate with U.S. sanctions threats against BRICS members Brazil and South Africa.
• Middle East conflict mirrors broader global divide as BRICS solidifies as counterforce to U.S. dominance.

Fresh rounds of talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 7 and 8, 2025, underscored geopolitical fractures as diverging visions for the Middle East collide. The meetings came amid revelations of Israel’s controversial Gaza depopulation plan and sharp pushback from BRICS nations, signaling a deepening rift between the Western bloc and the Global South. While Trump and Netanyahu frame their strategy as a move toward stability, critics warn it risks legitimizing ethnic cleansing and intensifying regional violence, with BRICS leaders denouncing U.S.-backed actions as violations of international law.

U.S.-Israel diplomacy: Pushing toward “voluntary relocation” in Gaza

At the White House, Trump and Netanyahu discussed plans to transfer 600,000 Gazans to tent cities in Rafah, later relocating them to third countries, dubbed the “Trump Plan.” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz framed the initiative as a “solution for sustainability,” while U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff claimed a six-month ceasefire deal with Hamas was nearing agreement. However, skeptics highlighted contradictions. Netanyahu’s assertive military rhetoric—demanding “eliminating Hamas’s capabilities”—contradicted talk of “voluntary” civilian relocations.

Annelle Sheline of the Quincy Institute accused the administration of complicity in a “crime against humanity,” comparing the plan to “concentration camps.” Meanwhile, Netanyahu faces domestic corruption charges, with Trump intervening to criticize Israeli prosecutors, deepening U.S. entanglement in Israel’s internal politics.

BRICS mobilizes: Rejecting U.S. hegemony in the Middle East

BRICS leaders countered U.S. efforts with a July 6 statement condemning “military strikes against Iran and Israeli actions in Gaza,” demanding an immediate ceasefire and full Palestinian sovereignty. This alignment between Russia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa reflects a broader shift toward challenging Western dominance, particularly its military and economic policies.

The White House retaliated, with Trump threatening 50% tariffs against Brazil for supporting political opponents like Jair Bolsonaro. Former envoy Claver-Carone termed BRICS’s de-dollarization ambitions “the last straw,” signaling a breakdown in economic cooperation. Analysts note BRICS nations increasingly position themselves as champions of sovereignty and multipolarity, counterpoised to U.S. unilateralism.

Humanitarian crisis and long-standing tensions

Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe remains unaddressed, with 57,575 Palestinians killed since October 2023 and nearly half a million facing famine. Israel’s strategy of geographic control in Rafah, coupled with forced relocations, recalls decades of systemic integration — a term cited by groups like B’Tselem in their 2021 apartheid assessment.

The U.S. approach risks entrenching violence, as seen in the 50 Palestinian deaths on July 8 alone. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination by Israel underscores the disconnect between rhetoric and reality. Trump’s push for a rapid ceasefire may empower hardliners on both sides, delaying a lasting peace.

 The path to no return

The Middle East stands at a pivotal, perilous juncture, where the consequences of entrenched policies risk cementing generations of strife. U.S.-backed unilateralism—marked by asymmetric military support, politicized diplomacy and the normalization of Palestinian displacement—has not only deepened anti-Western resentment but also forged new fault lines in global alliances. Simultaneously, the growing solidarity of BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) with Palestinian statehood aspirations has recast international diplomacy, challenging Western hegemony and amplifying calls for accountability. Yet history offers a grim caution: no political project built on ethnic displacement, systemic exclusion, or indifference to human suffering can deliver stability. Instead, it seeds enduring enmity.

This is the stark reality facing Gaza, where the systematic erosion of infrastructure, suffocating blockades and cyclical warfare have pushed the Strip to the brink of societal collapse. starvation, disease and trauma are not collateral damage but outcomes engineered by policies that treat Palestinians as pawns in a geopolitical chess match. As warplanes roar and children die, the world faces an unavoidable reckoning: the idea of “peace” anchored in perpetual occupation, land confiscation and apartheid-like segregation is not a solution but a license for endless cycles of annihilation. The global community’s complacency—or outright complicity—validates a behemoth of injustice, normalizing a humanitarian catastrophe that defies ethical and legal norms.

Sources for this article include:

RT.com

Aljazeera.com