Trump says Palestinians won’t have the right to return to Gaza under his plan
President Donald Trump said Palestinians in Gaza would not have a right to return under his plan for U.S. “ownership” of the war-torn territory, contradicting other officials in his administration who’ve sought to argue Trump was only calling for the temporary relocation of its population.
Less than a week after he floated his plan for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and turn it in “the Riviera of the Middle East,” Trump, in an interview with FOX News’ Bret Baier that was set to air Monday, said, “No, they wouldn’t,” when asked if Palestinians in Gaza would have a right to return to the territory.
It comes as he’s ramped up pressure on Arab states, especially U.S. allies Jordan and Egypt, to take in Palestinians from Gaza, who claim the territory as part of a future homeland.
“We’ll build safe communities, a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is,” Trump said. “In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent.”
No ‘Arab consensus’
Badr Abdelatty stressed “the importance of finding a political horizon for the Palestinian cause, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and for the Palestinian people to enjoy the right of self-determination,” the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.
A senior Hamas official blasted President Trump’s latest remarks about the U.S. ownership of Gaza, as “absurd.”
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas politico bureau, said the comments “reflect a deep ignorance of Palestine and the region.”
In comments released by Hamas early Monday, he said Trump’s approach toward the Palestinian cause will fail.
