WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and proposed the U.S. take “ownership” in redeveloping the area.
Trump’s brazen proposal appears certain to roil the next stage of talks meant to extend the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza.
The provocative comments came as talks are ramping up this week with the promise of surging humanitarian aid and reconstruction supplies to help the people of Gaza recover after more than 15 months of devastating conflict. Now Trump wants to push roughly 1.8 million people to leave the land they have called home and claim it for the U.S., perhaps with American troops.
Trump outlined his thinking as he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, where the two leaders also discussed the fragile ceasefire and hostage deal in the Israeli-Hamas conflict and shared concerns about Iran.
“I don’t think people should be going back,” Trump said. “You can’t live in Gaza right now. I think we need another location. I think it should be a location that’s going to make people happy.”
Trump said the U.S. would take ownership of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere and turn the territory into “the Riviera of the Middle East” in which the “world’s people”— including Palestinians — would live. He offered no detail about what authority the U.S. would use to take the land and develop it.
“We’ll make sure that it’s done world class,” Trump said. “It’ll be wonderful for the people — Palestinians, Palestinians mostly, we’re talking about.”
Egypt, Jordan and other U.S. allies in the Mideast have cautioned Trump that relocating Palestinians from Gaza would threaten Mideast stability, risk expanding the conflict and undermine a decades-long push by the U.S. and allies for a two-state solution.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry issued a sharply worded reaction to Trump, noting their long call for an independent Palestinian state was a “firm, steadfast and unwavering position.” Saudi Arabia has been in negotiations with the U.S. over a deal to diplomatically recognize Israel in exchange for a security pact and other terms.
|AP