President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the “US will take over the Gaza Strip,” shortly after suggesting a permanent resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” he said during a news conference with 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, level it out, (and) create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” Trump said.
Asked if the US will send troops to the Gaza Strip, he responded: “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 will be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of,” he said.
Trump also said that he sees the US having “long-term ownership” of the Gaza Strip.
“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…and this was not a decision made lightly. 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, and I’ve seen it from every different angle, and it’s a very, very dangerous place to be, and it’s only going to get worse. And I think this is an idea that’s gotten tremendous — and I’m talking about from the highest level of leadership — gotten tremendous praise. And if the United States can help to bring stability and peace in the Middle East, we’ll do that.”
Asked if this means he does not support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Trump said: “It doesn’t mean anything about a two-state or one-state or any other state. It means that we want to give people a chance at life.”
“They have never had a chance at life because the Gaza Strip has been a hell hole for people living there,” he added.
In response to a question on who will live in Gaza if Palestinians leave, Trump responded: “The world’s people.”
“I think you’ll make that into an international, unbelievable place. I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable,” he said.
“I think the entire world, representatives from all over the world will be there, and they’ll live there….Palestinians will live there. Many people will live there.”
Trump added that the Gaza Strip will become the “Riviera of the Middle East,” saying: “We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal.”
Netanyahu said: “As we discussed, Mr. President, to secure our future and bring peace to our region, we have to finish the job.”
He added that Israel has to ensure that “Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.”
Earlier, during a sit-down with Netanyahu at the Oval Office, Trump said he thinks Jordan and Egypt will take in Palestinians from Gaza, maintaining that the enclave is a demolition site and uninhabitable.
Trump’s controversial proposal has received widespread condemnation, with many calling it “ethnic cleansing” and a “war crime.”
Jordan and Egypt, along with other regional and European countries like the UK, France and Germany, strongly rejected Trump’s relocation proposal.
