Trump Says “We’ll Own” Gaza, Palestinians Should “Move Out”
Written by djfrosty on February 6, 2025
Source: Xinhua News Agency / Getty
President Donald Trump floated the idea of moving the Palestinians out of Gaza permanently after the United States took ownership of the region.
On Tuesday afternoon, (Feb. 4), President Donald Trump met with the far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. He would go on to stun reporters (and reportedly Netanyahu) by proposing that the United States should take over Gaza. “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip,” Trump began. “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.”
He would continue by proposing that the Palestinian people should “move out” of Gaza to be taken in by other countries, saying they live in a “hellhole.” Trump then said the Gaza Strip could be a “Riviera of The Middle East,” adding: “This was not a decision made lightly. Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land.” Afterward, many pointed out comments made by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser discussing the opportunities of that kind of move last year: “Gaza’s waterfront property, it could be very valuable if people would focus on kind of building up livelihoods…I think that it’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there but I think from Israel’s perspective, I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up.”
Trump’s remarks at the press conference were met with outrage and firm refusals by the international community. “This is out of the question,” Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenza, said in an interview. “The Palestinians don’t want it, the world community doesn’t want it, and you cannot forcefully resettle someone, somewhere.” The Saudi Foreign Ministry, King Abdullah of Jordan, and Egypt’s Foreign Ministry have all rejected his proposal, reaffirming their commitment to Palestine having its own state within Israel as a bridge to peace in the Middle East.
The news was met with anger and defiance among those Palestinians who have returned to Gaza since the initial 42-day ceasefire between Hamas and Israel began last month. “This is my homeland and I have no intention to leave even if Trump provides me with the best of everything somewhere else,” said surgeon Nehad Ghonaim.