1). “Trump says US will ‘take over’ Gaza Strip in shock announcement during Netanyahu visit: President’s plan, which critics said was ‘ethnic cleansing by another name’, would involve the permanent resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries”, Feb 5, 2025, David Smith, The Guardian, at < https://www.theguardian.com/
2). “Donald Trump’s Gaza plan: the key takeaways:The US president has unveiled a plan for the US to take long-term ownership of the Gaza Strip. Here are are the key points from the press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu”, Feb 4, 2025, Léonie Chao-Fong and agencies, The Guardian, at < https://www.theguardian.com/
3). “Trump’s declaration US will ‘take over’ Gaza Strip sparks global condemnation – live”, Feb 5, 2025, Amy Sedghi (now); Martin Belam and Kate Lamb (earlier), The Guardian, at < https://www.theguardian.com/
4). “Jared Kushner says Gaza’s ‘waterfront property could be very valuable’: Donald Trump’s son-in-law also says Israel should bulldoze an area of the Negev desert and move Palestinians there”, Mar 19, 2024, Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor, The Guardian, at < https://www.theguardian.com/
~~ recommended by dmorista ~~
Introduction by dmorista: Yesterday, Feb 4, 2025 during a public appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Trump announced his intention to have the U.S. including the U.S. military take over the Gaza Strip, demolish and remove all unexploded bombs and force the 2 million plus Palestinians out to very questionable fates in Egypt and Jordan. People whom BTW news video show long lines of whom are walking to look for what is left of their homes in Northern Gaza. Was this a trial balloon by Trump to see if he, who always thinks like a real estate hustler, can get away with doing this?? Item 1)., “Trump says US will ‘take over’ Gaza Strip ….”; Item 2)., “Donald Trump’s Gaza plan: ….”; and Item 3)., “Trump’s declaration ….”, all look at Trump's proposal and also note the many objections posted by prominent people, politicians, and governments in the region, Europe, and the U.S. and other places. Item 1 includes a 2 minute embedded video in which Trump makes the proposal in the appearance with Netanyahu at the White House; Item 3 is a live story that keeps getting material added to it.
Various Zionists have been suggesting exactly this sort of initiative, since shortly after the Oct 7th events of 2023, suggesting that the Israelis should seize all the land in Gaza, drive the Palestinians out of Israel, and develop the shoreline and inland areas for Jewish settlements and businesses. These have included Trump's son-in-law as noted in Item 4)., “Jared Kushner says Gaza’s 'waterfront ….”. Of course the countries where Trump wants to send another 2+ million refugees, Egypt and Jordan, vigorously objected to that eventuality.
Greenland, Canada, the Panama Canal, and now Trump's slavish attitude toward Israel; all show a very different face concerning the use of the American military, as compared to the America First disinformation that his campaigns were built on, along with the crime, border chaos, and racist memes.
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Trump says US will ‘take over’ Gaza Strip in shock announcement during Netanyahu visit
Plan, which critics said was ‘ethnic cleansing by another name’, would involve resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries
Donald Trump has vowed that the US will “take over” war-ravaged Gaza and “own it”, effectively endorsing the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, in an announcement shocking even by the standards of his norm-shattering presidency.
Trump, who has previously threatened Greenland and Panama and suggested that Canada should become the 51st state, added Gaza to his expansionist agenda, claiming that it could become the “Riviera of the Middle East”. He declined to rule out sending US troops to make it happen.
“The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative,” the president told a joint press conference with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the White House on Tuesday evening. “It’s right now a demolition site. This is just a demolition site. Virtually every building is down.”
Arguing that Palestinians could live out their lives in “peace and harmony” elsewhere, Trump continued: “The US 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.”
Later, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, wrote in a post on X: “The United States stands ready to lead and Make Gaza Beautiful Again. Our pursuit is one of lasting peace in the region for all people.”
The announcement followed a surprise proposal from Trump, a property developer, earlier on Tuesday for the permanent resettlement in neighbouring countries of the 2 million Palestinians who live in Gaza.
He called for Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states to take in Palestinians from Gaza, saying they had no alternative but to abandon the coastal strip, which must be rebuilt after nearly 16 months of a devastating war between Israel and Hamas militants.
Trump said he would support resettling Palestinians “permanently”, going beyond his previous suggestions that Arab leaders have already steadfastly rejected.
But he offered no specifics on how a resettlement process could be implemented. His proposal echoed the wishes of Israel’s far right and contradicted Joe Biden’s commitment against the mass displacement of Palestinians.
At the press conference, in which hundreds of journalists crowded into the east room, the president was asked if the plan might involve US military force. “As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary,” he said. “If it’s necessary, we’ll do that.”
He did not directly respond to a question of how and under what authority the US could take over the land of Gaza and occupy it in the long term.
“I do see a long-term ownership position and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East,” he went on, claiming that he had spoken to regional leaders and they supported the idea. “Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land,” he said.
“I’ve studied this very closely over a lot of months,” Trump added, describing Gaza as a “hellhole” and “symbol of death and destruction”. He said Palestinians there should be housed in “various domains” in other countries and expressed hope that the leaders of Egypt and Jordan would “open their hearts” to the idea over time.
Pressed on who would live in a redeveloped Gaza, Trump said it could become a home to “the world’s people”, adding: “I don’t want to be cute, I don’t want to be a wise guy – but the Riviera of the Middle East … This could be something that could be so valuable, this could be so magnificent.”
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Donald Trump’s Gaza plan: the key takeaways
The US president has unveiled a plan for the US to take long-term ownership of the Gaza Strip. Here are are the key points from the press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu
Donald Trump’s Gaza plan: the key takeaways
The US president has unveiled a plan for the US to take long-term ownership of the Gaza Strip. Here are are the key points from the press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu
Donald Trump and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, addressed reporters at the White House, where the US president announced his intention to take over the Gaza Strip, move Palestinians to neighbouring countries and redevelop the territory for occupation by “the world’s people”, effectively endorsing the ethnic cleansing of the people of Gaza. Here are the main takeaways from their joint press conference on Tuesday evening:
In a shock announcement, Trump said the US will “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip. The US president said he envisioned a “long-term” US ownership of the territory after all Palestinians were moved elsewhere. He did not explain how and under what authority the US can take over the land of Gaza. “We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,” he said. He said the US would “level” destroyed buildings and “create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
The US president called Gaza a “symbol of death and destruction” and that the only reason people want to go back there is because they have nowhere else to go. The 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza should move to neighbouring countries with “humanitarian hearts” and “great wealth”, Trump said. Earlier he had called for Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states to take in Palestinians. He said they could be split up across a number of separate sites. Forced displacement of the population would probably be a violation of international law and would be fiercely opposed not only in the region but also by Washington’s western allies. Some human rights advocates liken the idea to ethnic cleansing.
He went on to say that Gaza could become “the Riviera of the Middle East” where “the world’s people” could live there, echoing the previous sentiments of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who said Gaza had very valuable “waterfront property”.
Trump gave a vague answer when asked a question on whether he supported a two-state solution. Asked if his view that Palestinians should be relocated from Gaza was a sign that he was against the two-state policy that has been the foreign policy approach of the United States for decades, Trump said no. “It doesn’t mean anything about a two-state or one state or any other state. It means that we want to have, we want to give people a chance at life,” he said. “They have never had a chance at life because the Gaza Strip has been a hellhole for people living there. It’s been horrible.”
Trump claimed high-level support among unnamed leaders he had spoken to. “This is not a decision made lightly,” he said, adding that “everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land.” He said the move would bring “great stability to that part of the Middle East”.
Trump did not rule out sending US troops to secure Gaza. “As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that,” he said. On Trump’s idea of taking over Gaza, Netanyahu said the US president “sees a different f
uture for Gaza”, adding: “I think it’s something that could change history.”
Trump said he would probably announce a position on Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank in the next month. “We haven’t been taking the position on it yet,” he said. Trump added that he planned to visit the Gaza Strip, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Netanyahu described Trump as “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House”. The Israeli leader said “we have to finish the job in Gaza”, and said “Israel will end the war by winning the war.” Netanyahu praised Trump for “thinking outside the box with fresh ideas” and “showing willingness to puncture conventional thinking”.
The Saudi government, in a statement, stressed its rejection of any attempt to displace Palestinians from their land and said it would not establish relations with Israel without establishment of a Palestinian state. Meanwhile Hamas condemned Trump’s calls for Palestinians in Gaza to leave as “expulsion from their land”. The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations said that world leaders and people should respect Palestinians’ desire to remain in Gaza.
Trump’s declaration US will ‘take over’ Gaza Strip sparks global condemnation – live
UK, Germany, China, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia speak against announcement described as ethnic cleansing by human rights groups
Global reaction to Trump’s declaration US will ‘take over’ Gaza Strip
President Donald Trump said the United States would take over the Gaza Strip after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere.
Here are some global reactions to the announcement, according to a roundup from Reuters:
Saudi Arabian foreign ministry:
Saudi Arabia rejects any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has affirmed the kingdom’s position in ‘a clear and explicit manner’ that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances.”
UK prime minister, Keir Starmer:
“They [Palestinians] must be allowed home, they must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution.”
German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock:
Baerbock said the Gaza Strip belongs to Palestinians and their expulsion would be unacceptable and contrary to international law. “It would also lead to new suffering and new hatred … There must be no solution over the heads of the Palestinians.”
French foreign ministry spokeperson, Christophe Lemoine:
France reiterates its opposition to any forced displacement of the Palestinian population of Gaza, which would constitute a serious violation of international law, an attack on the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians, but also a major obstacle to the two-state solution and a major destabilising factor for our close partners Egypt and Jordan as well as for the entire region.”
Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Albares:
I want to be very clear on this: Gaza is the land of Gazan Palestinians and they must stay in Gaza. Gaza is part of the future Palestinian state Spain supports and has to coexist guaranteeing the Israeli state’s prosperity and safety.”
Egyptian foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty:
Abdelatty discussed with Palestinian prime minister, Mohammad Mustafa, the importance of moving forward with recovery projects in Gaza without Palestinians leaving the territory.
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov:
Russia believes a settlement in the Middle East is only possible on the basis of a two-state solution:
This is the thesis that is enshrined in the relevant UN security council resolution, this is the thesis that is shared by the overwhelming majority of countries involved in this problem. We proceed from it, we support it and believe that this is the only possible option.”
Chinese foreign ministry:
China hopes all parties will take ceasefire and post-conflict governance as an opportunity to bring the Palestinian issue back on the right track of political settlement based on the two-state solution.”
Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan:
Trump’s comments on a plan to take over Gaza are “unacceptable”. Any plans leaving Palestinians “out of the equation” would lead to more conflict.
UN human rights office:
It is crucial that we move towards the next phase of the ceasefire, to release all hostages and arbitrarily detained prisoners, end the war and reconstruct Gaza, with full respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
Any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited.”
Senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri:
Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass … What is required is to end the [Israeli] occupation and aggression against our people, not to expel them from their land.”
Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Palestinian leadership:
Abbas said the Palestinians will not relinquish their land, rights and sacred sites, and that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the land of the State of Palestine, along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Senior Iranian official:
Iran does not agree with any displacement of Palestinians and has communicated this through various channels.”
Irish foreign minister, Simon Harris:
It’s very clear the direction of travel here: we need a two state solution, and the people of Palestine and the people of Israel both have a right to live in states safely side by side, and that’s where the focus has to be. Any idea of displacing the people of Gaza anywhere else would be in clear contradiction with UN security council resolutions.”
Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese:
Australia’s position is the same as it was this morning, as it was last year. The Australian government supports on a bipartisan basis a two-state solution.”
Palestine Liberation Organization secretary general, Hussein al-Sheikh:
The Palestinian leadership affirms its firm position that the two-state solution, in accordance with international legitimacy and international law, is the guarantee of security, stability and peace.”
Islamic Jihad:
Trump’s positions and plans are a dangerous escalation that threaten Arab and regional national security, especially in Egypt and Jordan, which the US administration wants to put in confrontation with the Palestinian people and their rights.”
Former Israeli minister for national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir:
Ben-Gvir said that “encouraging” Palestinians to migrate from the territory was the only correct strategy at the end of the war in Gaza. He urged Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to adopt that policy “immediately”.
Democratic and Palestinian-American US representative, Rashida Tlaib:
Palestinians aren’t going anywhere. This president can only spew this fanatical bullshit because of bipartisan support in Congress for funding genocide and ethnic cleansing. It’s time for my two-state solution colleagues to speak up.”
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Jared Kushner says Gaza’s ‘waterfront property could be very valuable’
Donald Trump’s son-in-law also says Israel should bulldoze an area of the Negev desert and move Palestinians there
Jared Kushner has praised the “very valuable” potential of Gaza’s “waterfront property” and suggested Israel should remove civilians while it “cleans up” the strip.
The former property dealer, married to Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, made the comments in an interview at Harvard University on 15 February. The interview was posted on the YouTube channel of the Middle East Initiative, a program of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, earlier this month.
Kushner was a senior foreign policy adviser under Trump’s presidency and was tasked with preparing a peace plan for the Middle East. Critics of the plan, which involved Israel striking normalisation deals with Gulf states, said it bypassed questions about the future for Palestinians.
His remarks at Harvard gave a hint of the kind of Middle East policy that could be pursued in the event that Trump returns to the White House, including a search for a normalisation deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
“Gaza’s waterfront property could be very valuable … if people would focus on building up livelihoods,” Kushner told his interviewer, the faculty chair of the Middle East Initiative, Prof Tarek Masoud. Kushner also lamented “all the money” that had gone into the territory’s tunnel network and munitions instead of education and innovation.
“It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but from Israel’s perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up,” Kushner said. “But I don’t think that Israel has stated that they don’t want the people to move back there afterwards.”
Masoud replied that there was “a lot to talk about there”.
Kushner also said he thinks Israel should move civilians from Gaza to the Negev desert in southern Israel.
He said that if he were in charge of Israel his number one priority would be getting civilians out of the southern city of Rafah, and that “with diplomacy” it could be possible to get them into Egypt.
“But in addition to that, I would just bulldoze something in the Negev, I would try to move people in there,” he said. “I think that’s a better option, so you can go in and finish the job.”
He reiterated the point a little later, saying: “I do think right now opening up the Negev, creating a secure area there, moving the civilians out, and then going in and finishing the job would be the right move.”
The suggestion drew a startled response from Masoud. “Is that something that they’re talking about in Israel?” Masoud asked. “I mean, that’s the first I’ve really heard of somebody, aside from President Sisi [Egypt’s leader], suggesting that Gazans trying to flee the fighting could take refuge in the Negev. Are people in Israel seriously talking about that possibility?”
“I don’t know,” Kushner replied, shrugging his shoulders.
“That would be something you’d try to work on?” Masoud asked.
“I’m sitting in Miami Beach right now,” Kushner said. “And I’m looking at the situation and I’m thinking: what would I do if I was there?”
Asked by Masoud about fears on the part of Arabs in the region that the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, would not allow Palestinians who flee Gaza to return, Kushner paused and then said: “Maybe.”
He went on to say: “I am not sure there is much left of Gaza at this point. If you think about even the construct, Gaza was not really a historical precedent [sic]. It was the result of a war. You had tribes in different places and then Gaza became a thing. Egypt used to run it and then over time different governments came in.”
Responding to a question about whether the Palestinians should have their own state, Kushner described the proposal as “a super bad idea” that “would essentially be rewarding an act of terror”.
This article was amended on 20 March 2024. An earlier version said that Jared Kushner made the comments about Gaza’s “waterfront property” in an interview at Harvard University on 8 March. In fact, the interview took place on 15 February and the video was posted online on 8 March.
