TRUMP: WE’LL OWN GAZA
PRESIDENT Donald Trump revealed an extraordinary plan on Tuesday for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip, reports AFP.
In a stunning proposal, Trump suggests resettling Palestinians in other countries – seemingly whether they wanted to leave or not – and turn the territory into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Gasps were heard during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he was hosting at the White House.In a scheme that lacked details on how he would move out more than two million Palestinians or control Gaza, Trump said he would make the war-battered enclave “unbelievable” by removing unexploded bombs and rubble and economically redeveloping it.
Trump said: “The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it.”
He said there was support from the “highest leadership” in the region and put pressure on Egypt and Jordan to take displaced Gazans, despite both nations and the Palestinians flatly rejecting the idea.
Suggesting “long-term ownership” by the United States, Trump said his plan for Gaza would make it “the Riviera of the Middle East”, adding: “This could be something that could be so magnificent.”
Key US ally Netanyahu said Trump’s plan could “change history” and was worth “paying attention to.”
Netanyahu was making the first visit of a foreign leader to the White House since Trump’s return to power, for what were billed as talks on securing a second phase of the Israel-Hamas truce after an initial six-week ceasefire.
But since the Gaza ceasefire took effect on 18 January, Israel has launched a deadly operation against militants in the occupied West Bank’s north.
The Israeli leader would not rule out a return to hostilities with Hamas, or with its other foes in the region including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran.
He did voice confidence that a deal with regional rival Saudi Arabia to normalise relations was “going to happen”.
But after Trump aired his proposal, Saudi Arabia said it would not formalise ties with Israel unless a Palestinian state is established.Trump’s grand Gaza plan,however, is set to face harsh opposition from Palestinians and Middle Eastern countries.Egypt, Jordan and ceasefire mediator Qatar have all flatly rejected Trump’s suggestion of moving Palestinians from Gaza.
The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, 2023, taking into Gaza 251 hostages, 76 of whom are still held in the Palestinian territory including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Hamas’s attack resulted in the deaths of 1 210 people on Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory response has killed at least 47 518 people in Gaza, the majority being civilian women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
The United Nations considers these figures as reliable.