Trump suggests permanent resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza, US takeover

Trump suggests permanent resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza, US takeover

President Trump on Tuesday suggested Palestinians should be permanently relocated out of the Gaza Strip and that the United States should take over the territory after it was reduced to rubble by more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

Trump, who was alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a White House visit, doubled down on his suggestion that neighboring Jordan and Egypt take in those from Gaza. But Tuesday was the first time Trump was more clear about Palestinians not returning to their homes in the coastal enclave, even after it’s been rebuilt.

“It would be my hope that we could do something really nice, really good, where they wouldn’t want to return. Why would they want to return? The place has been hell,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza,” he added. “Gaza is not a place for people to be living, and the only reason they want to go back, and I believe this strongly, is because they have no alternative. … If they had an alternative, they’d much rather not go back to Gaza and live in a beautiful alternative that’s safe.”

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Trump’s comments are the furthest he has gone to date in suggesting Palestinians should be moved out of Gaza, which he referred to as a “demolition site.”

Trump was more vague when asked whether a Palestinian state was necessary to broker ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a key demand of the latter.

“They are demanding one thing. You know what it is? Peace.”

During a subsequent joint press conference with Netanyahu, Trump further outlined his vision for a Gaza Strip that would not be rebuilt for Palestinians, but instead would be taken over and owned by the United States.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it,” Trump said. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”

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Trump suggested other neighboring countries could invest millions of dollars to create “numerous sites or one large site” where Palestinians could relocate.

The president left open the possibility of U.S. troops being used to secure the Gaza Strip “if it’s necessary.”

Netanyahu called Trump’s proposal “something that could change history, and it’s worthwhile really pursuing this avenue.”

U.S. policy across multiple administrations has consistently backed a two-state solution, but Trump’s remarks stand to put that in question along with efforts toward Palestinian sovereignty.

Arab leaders in the region have said efforts to displace Palestinians or move them into neighboring countries are a nonstarter. Egypt and Jordan, countries with peace treaties with Israel, oppose absorbing Palestinians, claiming it poses a security risk, is destabilizing and threatens to provoke mass opposition.

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Jordan already houses about 3 million Palestinians, many of whom already have been displaced by prior wars. Trump suggested Tuesday that Palestinians could be relocated to up to a dozen places or one place. He gave no further details.

Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and a senior Palestinian official wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week outlining their concerns.

“Not only will such a move be a clear violation of international law. It will be a threat to regional stability and security,” the ministers wrote. “Palestinians do not want to leave their land. We support their position unequivocally. Such a move will further compound the challenge of the refugees’ problem.”

Trump’s suggestion to move Palestinians out of Gaza for good stands to be politically difficult to accomplish — the population collectively opposes resettlement because it is seen as undermining their rights.

Trump was in part hoisted to reelection by the Arab and Muslim population in the U.S. who vehemently opposed former President Biden’s handling of Gaza, which included billions of weapons being sent to Israel and Biden failing to champion humanitarian efforts at the start of the war.

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And it was under Biden’s watch that Israel carried out a sustained military campaign in Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed nearly 1,200 Israelis. The Israeli response has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, and Palestinian health authorities estimated that more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict as of mid-January, when a ceasefire was reached.

A senior Trump administration official said earlier Tuesday that Trump “looks at the Gaza Strip and sees it as a demolition site” and “sees it as impractical for it to be rebuilt within three to five years, believes it will take at least 10 to 15 and thinks it’s inhumane to force people to live in an uninhabitable plot of land with unexploded ordnance and rubble.”

The Trump administration is overseeing implementation of a ceasefire agreement announced in the final days of the Biden administration. The ceasefire deal is made up of three phases. Israel and Hamas are adhering to the first phase of the deal, and several hostages who were taken after the Hamas attack have already been released.

Netanyahu on Tuesday became the first foreign leader to visit the White House since Trump returned to office for his second term. While Trump has at times been critical of Netanyahu, both over his acceptance of the 2020 election results and his handling of the war with Hamas, the visit underscored the importance of the relationship for both leaders.

“This is a testament to your friendship and support for the Jewish state, and the Jewish people,” Netanyahu said during a joint press conference. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: You are the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.”

Laura Kelly contributed.

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