Palestinians, their allies and other nations reacted strongly to President Donald Trump’s proposal that the United States “take over” the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its residents.
Trump’s suggestion came at a White House news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who smiled several times as the president detailed a plan to build new settlements for Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip, and for the US to take “ownership” in redeveloping the war-torn territory into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said. “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, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs.”
His remarks drew swift opposition from allies and adversaries alike.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for the United Nations to “protect the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights,” saying that what Trump wanted to do would be “a serious violation of international law.”
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group has denounced Trump’s “racist comments,” vowing to fight the US president’s plans in Gaza.
The group said in a statement that Israel’s bombing campaign had failed to force Palestinians to leave Gaza, and that Trump’s “recent comments won’t succeed in transferring them.”
The group vowed to fight against any plans to transfer the Palestinians out of their territories.
“Our Palestinian people always have the resistance option, which they have practiced for more than a century,” it said.
Egypt’s foreign minister and the Palestinian prime minister on Wednesday called to rebuild Gaza without forcing out its Palestinians residents.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamad Mustafa provided “an integrated vision” to remove the rubble and rebuild Gaza in cooperation with international groups, according to an Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement after Mustafa met with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Cairo.
The statement did not address Trump’s remarks directly but said both sides called to accelerate rebuilding and the delivery of aid “without moving the Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said President Donald Trump’s comments on the Gaza Strip were “unacceptable.”
Fidan, in an interview with the state-run Anadolu Agency on Wednesday, said the past displacement of Palestinians from their lands and the settlement of Israelis in those areas was the root cause of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“The issue of deportations from Gaza is not something that either the region or we would accept. Even thinking about it, in my opinion, is wrong and absurd,” he said.
Fidan added there is a general consensus for a two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a sovereign Palestinian state.
Fidan also reiterated his concern that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could resume attacks on Gaza following the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas and questioned how effective countries involved in maintaining the ceasefire would be.
“We need to see what kind of stance or sanctions the guarantor countries might take. Among the countries guaranteeing the ceasefire, the only one that can exert significant pressure on Israel is the United States,” Fidan said.
China opposes the forced relocation of people in Gaza, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday in Beijing when asked about Trump’s comments.
“China has always believed that Palestinian rule is the basic principle of post-war governance in Gaza,” said spokesperson Lin Jian.
He reiterated Beijing’s longstanding support of a two-state solution in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, praised Trump’s remarks as taking a “bold action in hopes of achieving lasting peace in Gaza.”
“We are hopeful this brings much needed stability and security to the region,” he wrote on X.
An official with Yemen’s Houthi rebels has criticized President Donald Trump’s comments on the Gaza Strip.
Mohammed Al Bukhaiti, a Houthi leader, wrote on the social platform X that Trump’s remarks represented “American arrogance” that will subsume all if it is met with “submission from the Arabs.” “If Egypt or Jordan or both decide to challenge America, Yemen will stand with all its strength by its side, to the furthest extent and without red lines,” he added.
Associated Press
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