Trump proposes taking over Gaza and resettling Palestinians

US President Donald Trump said yesterday that he wants to “take over” the Gaza Strip and resettle Palestinians in neighboring countries.

“We’re going to own it, and we’re going to be responsible for dismantling all the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the ground,” the US president said at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He added that he wants to take over Gaza and do business in that “piece of land,” creating “thousands of jobs.”

Trump, who has long opposed America’s “forever wars,” even hinted that he was open to deploying US troops to secure the region, saying he would “do whatever it takes.” Trump said he sees the US presence in the region as a “long-term ownership position.”

He added that Gaza must be rebuilt as a new “Riviera.”

“It should not go through a process of reconstruction and occupation by the same people who lived there, died there, and led a miserable life there,” he said, adding that they would be responsible for creating economic development that would provide unlimited jobs and housing for “the people of the region.”

Netanyahu: Something that will change history

According to Bloomberg, as Trump continued to describe his vision during the press conference, Netanyahu, a few steps away, looked puzzled at times but made no protest.

According to a person familiar with the matter, only a handful of people were aware of the proposal before Trump’s announcement.

Netanyahu praised Trump for thinking at a “much higher level,” saying: “We are talking about it, and he is looking into it with his staff. I think this is something that could change history, and it’s really worth following this path,” he claimed.

Asked about US ally Jordan’s previous refusal to take in Palestinians, Trump pointed to Venezuela, which recently agreed to take back US deportees after refusing for a year.

Trump wants to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Gaza

“Look, the Gaza thing didn’t work,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office earlier in the day. “I think they should get a good, fresh, beautiful piece of land, and we’ll get somebody to put the money in and build it and beautify it and make it a livable and pleasant place to live,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office earlier in the day.

The American leader said he would not be deterred by opposition and pledged to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Gaza Strip during his upcoming foreign trip, saying many countries with a “humanitarian heart” wanted to support him.

“There are many countries that want to do this and build various areas that will ultimately be occupied by the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza, to end the death and destruction and, frankly, bad luck,” Trump said.

Earlier in the Oval Office, Trump said that “really rich” countries would supply land, and various areas could be built for permanent housing where Palestinians could “live a beautiful life,” suggesting that the new developments would be so beautiful that Palestinian refugees would not want to return to their homeland.

Trump expressed confidence that Saudi Arabia would support the proposal and said that he and other countries would welcome a new approach to addressing conflicts in the region.

“Saudi Arabia will be very helpful, and they have already been very helpful. But everybody thinks that continuing the same process over and over again, which goes on forever, and then the deaths and all the other problems start,” Trump said.

Netanyahu said he “believes that peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia is not only possible but will be realized.”

Saudi response: No normalization without a Palestinian state

However, Saudi Arabia quickly responded to Trump’s statements, declaring that it would not normalize relations with Israel without a Palestinian state.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia rejects any attempt to expel Palestinians from their land and that its position toward the Palestinians is non-negotiable.

The statement said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “clearly and unequivocally” confirmed the kingdom’s position, which does not allow for interpretation under any circumstances.

The ministry said its position in favor of a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, was “firm and unchanging.”

Trump had said that Saudi Arabia did not insist on a Palestinian state.