Trump talks Gaza Strip takeover
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere, moves that would shatter decades of US policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Trump unveiled his surprise plan, without providing specifics, at a joint press conference on Tuesday with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The announcement followed Trump’s shock proposal earlier on Tuesday for the permanent resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries, calling the enclave — where the first phase of a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire is in effect — a “demolition site.”
The US taking a direct stake there would run counter to longtime policy in Washington and for much of the international community, which has held that Gaza would be part of a future Palestinian state that includes the occupied West Bank.
Two-state solution
Egypt, Jordan and other American allies in the Middle East have already rejected the idea of relocating more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza elsewhere in the region.
Saudi Arabia, an important American ally, weighed in quickly on Trump’s expanded idea to take over the Gaza Strip in a sharply worded statement, noting that its long call for an independent Palestinian state was a “firm, steadfast and unwavering position.”
“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia also stresses what it had previously announced regarding its absolute rejection of infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, annexation of Palestinian lands or efforts to displace the Palestinian people from their land,” the statement said.
Similarly, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Canberra, Australia, that his country has long supported a two-state solution in the Middle East and that nothing had changed.
“Australia’s position is the same as it was this morning, as it was last year, as it was 10 years ago,” he said.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.”
‘Riviera of Middle East’
“If it’s necessary, we’ll do that, we’re going to take over that piece, we’re going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it’ll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of,” Trump added.
“I do see a long-term ownership position and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East,” he said, adding that he had spoken to regional leaders and they supported the idea.
Asked who would live there, Trump said it could become a home to “the world’s people.” Trump touted the narrow strip, where Israel’s military assault in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack has leveled large swaths, as having the potential to be “The Riviera of the Middle East.”
Trump did not directly respond to a question of how and under what authority the US can take over and occupy Gaza, home to around two million people with a long, violent history over control of the coastal strip. Successive US administrations, including Trump in his first term, had avoided deploying US troops there.
Netanyahu, referred to a few times by Trump by his nickname, “Bibi,” would not be drawn into discussing the proposal in depth other than to praise Trump for trying a new approach.
