WASHINGTON – United States President Donald Trump has expressed his intention to “take over” Gaza while the Palestinians will have to leave the area, a move that could reignite violence in the region where peace has recently returned following the a deal between Israel and Hamas.
He announced it while addressing a press conference along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stating that US troops will be deployed in the Gaza strip if needed. He said Gaza will be turned into the “Riviera of the Middle East” under his redevelopment plan.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” Trump said, adding that the move aimed to “supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area”.
“This was not a decision made lightly. Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent,” he said.
He hoped that displaced Palestinians in Gaza would “go to other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts”, though he suggested they would also continue living there.
“I think you will make that into an international, unbelievable place. I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable. And I think the entire world – representatives from all over the world will be there and they’ll live there. Palestinians also, Palestinians will live there,” the US President said said.
Israeli PM Netanyahu appreciated the US president’s plan, saying it was worth “paying attention to” and could “change history”.
Meanwhile, Hamas has condemned the proposal as a “recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region”.
“Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass,” the group said in a statement.
“What is required is an end to the occupation and aggression against our people, not their expulsion from their land. Our people in Gaza have thwarted displacement and deportation plans under bombardment for more than 15 months.”
The US president’s shocking statement comes following a recent ceasefire which paused hostilities in Gaza where Israel killed over 61,000 Palestinians in 15 months of military campaign.
