Media reports say the United States President Donald Trump has said the US will “take over” and “own” Gaza after resettling Palestinians elsewhere under an extraordinary redevelopment plan that he claimed could turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East”.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” Trump said at the White House after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that his administration would be responsible for clearing destroyed buildings and dismantling “dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons”, according to Al Jazeera.
Trump said on Tuesday that his administration would spearhead economic development in the enclave to “supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area”.
CNN reports that asked whether he was willing to send US troops to fill a security vacuum in Gaza, Trump did not rule it out.
“As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that. We’re going to take over that piece that we’re going to develop it,” Trump said.
According to CNN, Trump said in the Oval Office yesterday, “I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza.” “I heard that Gaza has been very unlucky for them. They live like hell. They live like they’re living in hell. Gaza is not a place for people to be living, and the only reason they want to go back, and I believe this strongly, is because they have no alternative,” Trump noted.
Later, he reportedly added that Palestinians could be among those who return to Gaza, but he was clear he did not envision the strip as a permanent home for them.
Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza, swiftly condemned the proposal as a “recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region”.
The group reportedly said in a statement that “our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass.”
In his remarks, Trump suggested the US would take a “long-term ownership position” over the enclave.
