US president Donald Trump said the US will “take over” Gaza, and “do a good job” in developing the region while putting an end to the Isreali-Palestine tussle over the area.
Trump stated this in a joint news conference with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House
The president says the US could “do a real job” by removing unexploded bombs and economically redeveloping the territory into “the Riviera of the Middle East”
He also proposed that Palestinians should be resettled outside of Gaza while it was rebuilt, though countries throughout the Middle East have previously rejected this proposal.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it to own it and be responsible for dismantling the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, and create economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” Trump said.
Isreali Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit in the US president’s second term, said Trump’s plan was an idea “worth paying attention to”
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has told Fox News that Trump’s Gaza takeover proposal will give Palestinians “more hope” for a better future—one that is potentially away from Gaza.
Speaking to host Sean Hannity, Witkoff stated that Gaza would be “inhabitable” for at least the next decade, adding, “Everybody wants to see peace in the region… [which] means a better life for the Palestinians. A better life is not necessarily tied to the physical space that you’re in today. A better life is about better opportunity, better financial conditions, and better aspirations for you and your family.
“That doesn’t occur because you get to pitch a tent in the Gaza Strip, and you’re surrounded by 30,000 munitions that could go off at any moment. It’s a dangerous place to live today.”
However, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri has described Donald Trump’s remarks about taking over the Gaza Strip as “ridiculous” and “absurd.”.
“Trump’s remarks about his desire to control Gaza are ridiculous and absurd, and any ideas of this kind are capable of igniting the region,” said Abu Zhuri, according to Reuters.
The president’s takeover plan comes at a critical juncture, with negotiations on a second stage of the Gaza ceasefire process in their early stages.
