President Donald Trump outlined an extraordinary new plan for the Middle East on Tuesday, with the United States taking control of the war-torn Gaza strip while its Palestinian population is moved to neighboring countries.
It is the latest evolution in his plan for rebuilding a territory devastated by Israeli bombardment.
His words will sow fear in the Palestinian population but Trump insisted it was time for a new way of thinking.
‘The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,’ he said at a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
‘We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site … level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings.’
Trump a property developer who sees the world in terms of deals, has long talked up Gaza’s coastal location and pleasant climate as a perfect holiday vacation.
In his vision, U.S. reconstruction would create thousands of jobs and spare Palestinians the pain and expense of rebuilding once again.
When a reporter asked if that might involve military force, Trump answered: ‘If necessary.
And when asked who would live there, he answered: ‘I envision world people living there. The world’s people.
‘I think you’ll make that into an international, unbelievable place.’
Yet the proposal to move out Gaza Palestinian population will be seen as a call for ‘ethnic cleansing’ by opponents.
Netanyahu could not help but beam as the president outlined his latest proposal. And he praised Trump for his radical thinking, such as recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel during his first term.
‘You see things others refuse to see,’ he said. ‘You say things others refuse to say.
‘And after the jaws drop people scratch their heads and they say, you know, he’s right.’
More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched strikes in the wake of Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.
‘I don’t think people should be going back,’ said Trump earlier as he welcomed Netanyahu to the Oval Office. “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.’
The comments will terrify Palestinians who have long feared that Israel was seeking to take their land.
