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Join on Telegram Rabat – In a controversial change from what was expected to be an announcement about Israel’s agenda for the second round of the Hamas-Israel truce, US President Donald Trump made brazen statements about what is the future for Palestinians, saying the US can “take over the Gaza Strip.”
The US president made his remarks in the joint press conference that was held following his meeting with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday.
‘The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too’
Concerning the future plans for the genocide-torn enclave, Trump callously talked about it as if he was making plans for another construction venture, saying he wants to “redevelop it [Gaza] economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere,” confirming his previous proposal of relocating Gazans from their home.
He also suggested that Palestinians would “love to leave” during this process, despite the fact that analysts, the international community and Gazans themselves have warned that this relocation would ultimately end in a permanent ethnic cleansing of the region.
Not only that, the US president also wishes to turn the ravaged land into “the Riviera of the Middle East,” suggesting that “it’ll be wonderful for the people — Palestinians, Palestinians mostly.”
Although he seemed to assure that “Palestinians would live there,” he also vaguely added that “Many people will live there,” suggesting that the land would be open for continued illegal settlements, of which Israeli occupation has already begun to do.
Seemingly framing his statements in a humanitarian way, Trump suggested that “the place has been hell” and that Palestinians have no reason to return to a devastated city. “We’ll [the US] own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings,” he continued.
Read also: Trump Says He Wants to ‘Clean Out Gaza’, Lifts Safeguard Bomb Restrictions on Israel
Hamas response
Following Trump’s statement about his plans for the future of Gaza, Abu Zuri, Hamas’s senior spokesperson, responded by saying his “remarks about his desire to control Gaza are ridiculous and absurd, and any ideas of this kind are capable of igniting the region.”
Zuri added that the controversial plan seems to be “a recipe for generating chaos and tension in the region,” confirming that “the people of Gaza will not allow such plans to pass.”
Describing Trump’s proposal as a racist stance, Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou said it “aligns with the Israeli extreme right’s position in displacing our people and eliminating our [Palestinian] cause.”
Palestine Liberation Organization response
The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) also condemned Trump’s statements.
Secretary General Hussein al-Sheikh said the organization refuses any plans that are deemed to relocate Palestinians from their home land.
“The Palestinian leadership affirms its firm position that the two-state solution, in accordance with international legitimacy and international law, is the guarantee of security, stability and peace,” al-Sheikh wrote on his X.
Read also: Hamas Sharply Opposes Trump’s Controversial Proposal to Relocate Gazans
Internal US response: ‘He’s totally lost it’
Notably, the US president’s bolden proposition is not unanimously supported by US policymakers and human rights organizations.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy posted on his X shortly after the news broke. “He’s totally lost it. A US invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of US troops and decades of war in the Middle East. It’s like a bad, sick joke,” he said.
Senator Chris Van Hollen echoed his fellow party member’s sentiment, saying that Trump’s proposal is “ethnic cleansing by another name.” Regarding the regional implications, the Democratic politician said: “This declaration will give ammunition to Iran and other adversaries while undermining our Arab partners in the region.”
He also added that Trump’s plan “defies decades of bipartisan American support for a two-state solution…Congress must stand up to this dangerous and reckless scheme.”
Muslim advocacy groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the proposal, calling the plan “a non-starter,” and that expelling Palestinians from their land would be a “crime against humanity.”
Israeli Far-Right
Israel’s far-right welcomed Trump’s suggestion to “take over” the Gaza enclave and relocate Palestinians, confirming the party is likely to rejoin the government if the plan moves forward.
Israel’s former public security minister and far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir said that “encouraging” Gazans to relocate out of the war-torn enclave was the only correct strategy at the end of the war, advising Netanyahu to “immediately” adopt the policy.
Saudi Arabia, China, Russia response
Key global players have also expressed their opposition to Trump’s remarks as the news of his proposed US “take over” of Gaza came out.
Riyadh said that normalization of ties with Israel is conditional on establishing a Palestinian state, thus rejecting any plans that involve displacing Palestinians from their land. The Saudi Foreign Ministry also reiterated its “unequivocal rejection” of “any infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also voiced disapproval of the controversial proposal, describing it as “a collective punishment that Russia rejects,” adding that “There are Israeli plans to take full control of the occupied West Bank and attempts to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.”
For its part, China opposed any forced transfer of Gazans and hopes parties take the ceasefire and post-conflict governance as an opportunity to bring the Palestinian issue back to a political settlement based on the two-state solution.
A new ‘colonizer’ in Gaza?
During yesterday’s press briefing, when asked whether the US is willing to send military troops to instill stability in the region, Trump did not exclude having plans for that. “As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that. We’re going to take over that piece that we’re going to develop it.”
Following these vague statements, the US president didn’t provide any clear details on how he could step into implementing his suggestion, leaving the world to wonder what is to come.
Trump’s remarks only bring more uncertainty for Gazans desperate to re-start their lives, reeling from 15-months of genocide at the hands of Israeli Occupation Forces. As Palestinians desperately continue to recover their dead and return to their communities, the world is watching what Israel and its closest ally decide to do next.
