Trump says US wants to 'take over' Gaza Strip
President Donald Trump has announced that the US would "take over" and "own" Gaza, resettling Palestinians elsewhere as part of an extraordinary redevelopment plan.
In a shock announcement upending decades of US policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Trump said on Tuesday that his administration would spearhead development in the enclave to “supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area”, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
“The US 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 after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that his administration would take responsibility for clearing destroyed buildings and dismantling “dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons”.
Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza, swiftly condemned the proposal as a “recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region”.
“Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass,” the group said in a statement.
In his remarks, Trump suggested the US would take 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.
Offering few specifics about how his plan would be implemented, Trump expressed hope that displaced Palestinians in Gaza would “go to other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts”, though he suggested Palestinians would also continue living there.
The US president said Gaza could become home to the “world’s people”.
“I think you will make that into an international, unbelievable place. I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable. And I think the entire world – representatives from all over the world will be there and they’ll live there. Palestinians also, Palestinians will live there,” he said.
“Many people will live there.”
Asked if US 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, we’ll do that,” he said.
Netanyahu, who praised Trump as the “greatest friend” Israel has ever had, said the US president’s plan was worth “paying attention to” and could “change history”.
“He sees a different future for that piece of land that has been the focus of so much terrorism, so many attacks against us, so many trials and so many tribulations,” Netanyahu said.
Trump’s announcement was broadly condemned by Palestinian advocates.
Similar news
