Washington, February 5 (RHC)-- U.S. President Donald Trump says that the U.S. will “take over” and “own” Gaza as part of a plan to turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
In a shocking announcement on Tuesday, Trump said his administration would spearhead an economic development that would “supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” Trump said at the White House on Tuesday after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that Washington would be responsible for clearing destroyed buildings and dismantling “dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons.”
Trump said he envisioned the U.S. taking a “long-term ownership position” over the enclave. “This was not a decision made lightly. Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent,” he said.
Trump also expressed his hope that displaced Palestinians in Gaza would be “permanently” resettled and the enclave could become home to the “world’s people.”
"So I don't think people should be going back to Gaza. I think that Gaza has been very unlucky for them. They've lived like hell. They lived like you're living in hell. Gaza is not a place for people to be living."
Asked if U.S. soldiers could be sent to Gaza to maintain security, Trump said it was a possibility. “As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary [to send in U.S. troops], we’ll do that,” he said.
Democrat lawmakers immediately cast doubt on Trump’s proposal. “I have news for you – we aren’t taking over Gaza. But the media and the chattering class will focus on it for a few days and Trump will have succeeded in distracting everyone from the real story – the billionaires seizing government to steal from regular people,” Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator for Connecticut, said on X.
Trump’s extraordinary proposal is all but certain to roil the next round of negotiations to extend the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Trump has repeatedly taken credit for the ceasefire deal, which came into effect on January 19, the day before he took office. He blamed the foreign policy of his predecessor Joe Biden for allowing the war in Gaza to begin in the first place.
“Nobody did anything for four years except in the negative,” Trump said at one point during his news conference, referring to Biden’s term in office. “Unfortunately, the weakness and incompetence of those past four years [caused] the grave damage around the globe.”
Still, Trump has cast doubt on the strength of the ceasefire and whether it would last. “The strikes could start tomorrow,” Trump said on Tuesday. “There’s not a lot left to strike.”
The initial 42-day truce, which will see the release of 33 Israeli captives and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, expires on March 1st.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Palestinian group Hamas said that negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire have begun. If agreed to, that phase would see the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the freeing of all captives.
But Trump lashed out at the group in his remarks, praising Israel’s efforts to cut off resources to Gaza.
