United States President Donald Trump says the U.S. would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere.
Trump unveiled his surprise plan, without providing specifics, at a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night.
The announcement followed Trump’s shock proposal earlier on Tuesday for the permanent resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries, calling the enclave – where the first phase of a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire is in effect – a “demolition site”.
Trump can expect allies and foes alike to strongly oppose any U.S. takeover of Gaza.
The United States taking a direct stake there would run counter to longtime policy in U.S. and for much of the international community, which has held that Gaza would be part of a future Palestinian state that includes the occupied West Bank.
Trump told reporters: “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too.
“We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.
“If it’s necessary, we’ll do that, we’re going to take over that piece; 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.
“I do see a long-term ownership position and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East.”
Trump added that he had spoken to regional leaders and they supported the idea.
Asked who would live there, Trump said it could become a home to “the world’s people”.
Trump touted the narrow strip, where Israel’s military assault in response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023, cross-border attack has leveled large swaths, as having the potential to be “The Riviera of the Middle East”.
Trump did not directly respond to a question of how and under what authority the U.S. can take over and occupy Gaza, home to around two million people with a long, violent history over control of the coastal strip.
Successive U.S. administrations, including Trump in his first term, had avoided deploying U.S. troops there.
Netanyahu, referred to a few times by Trump by his nickname, “Bibi,” would not be drawn into discussing the proposal in depth other than to praise Trump for trying a new approach, Reuters reported.
The Israeli leader, whose military had engaged in more than a year of fierce fighting with Hamas militants in Gaza, said Trump was “thinking outside the box with fresh ideas” and was “showing willingness to puncture conventional thinking”.
