U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and redevelop the region after relocating the Palestinian population. The announcement came during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though specific details about the relocation procedure were not provided.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump stated. “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.” He added that the area could become a home to “the world’s people,” hinting at an international dimension to his plan.
Trump also expressed intentions to visit Israel and possibly make a trip to Gaza in the near future. His announcement followed an earlier proposal for the permanent resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries. He referred to the enclave, heavily damaged by recent Israeli military actions in response to the October 7 Hamas attack, as a “demolition site” with the potential to become “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu praised Trump’s ideas, saying the U.S. president was “thinking outside the box with fresh ideas” and demonstrating a “willingness to puncture conventional thinking.”
Trump mentioned that Washington would request neighboring countries to accept Palestinians displaced from Gaza. “We should go to other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts, and there are many of them that want to do this,” he said. “This could be paid for by neighboring countries of great wealth.”
However, several Arab nations have rejected Trump’s proposal. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority, and the Arab League released a joint statement opposing any plans to relocate Palestinians from Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The statement warned that such plans “threaten the region’s stability, risk expanding the conflict, and undermine prospects for peace and coexistence among its peoples.”
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi firmly dismissed the suggestion, stating that the transfer of Palestinians “can’t ever be tolerated or allowed.” He emphasized that “the solution to this issue is the two-state solution. It is the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi echoed this sentiment, affirming that Jordan’s rejection of Trump’s idea is “firm and unwavering.”
The international community remains watchful as tensions continue in the region, with many calling for solutions that respect the rights and aspirations of all parties involved.
