US President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday the permanent relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, stating that the US "will take over" the Gaza Strip. Such remarks were described as "shock" by several Western media outlets, including The Guardian and Reuters.
"The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too," Trump said during a joint press conference alongside his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. "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." Asked whether he was willing to send US troops to fill a security vacuum in Gaza, Trump did not rule it out, according to a CNN report.
Speaking earlier Tuesday, Trump suggested Gazans move to a new location provided by one or more nations in the Middle East. "I mean they're there because they have no alternative. What do they have? It is a big pile of rubble right now," Trump said moments before hosting Netanyahu for Oval Office talks, according to CNN.
The Saudi government, in a statement, stressed its rejection of any attempt to displace Palestinians from their land and said it would not establish relations with Israel without establishment of a Palestinian state. Meanwhile Hamas condemned Trump's calls for Palestinians in Gaza to leave as "expulsion from their land." The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations said that world leaders and people should respect Palestinians' desire to remain in Gaza, according to The Guardian.
Trump first floated the suggestion of displacing Palestinians from Gaza on January 25 by urging Egypt and Jordan take in more people. Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations, as well as Palestinian leaders, have publicly rejected the idea that critics say would amount to "ethnic cleansing," Reuters reported.
Regarding Trump's remarks on cleaning out Gaza on January 25, some Palestinians in Gaza told CCTV News that they refused to leave, saying that Palestine is their ancestral homeland. They said Trump's statements about "cleaning out" Gaza as unacceptable, insisting that neither the US nor any other country could force them to leave. Whether they are bombed or buried, they will remain in Gaza, a Palestinian was cited by CCTV News as saying.
Trump's latest remarks may create more uncertainty in the Middle East. The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas will be implemented in three phases, including the release of detainees, Israel's withdrawal from certain areas to allow Gazans to return home, and reconstruction. However, Trump's statement now seems to offer Israel some form of endorsement, likely making Israel more assertive and less willing to compromise on critical issues, Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Trump's proposal is unequivocally rejected by Hamas and other key stakeholders, including the broader Arab and Islamic world. Gaza is Palestinian territory, belonging to its people—not the US or any other country. Its future should not be dictated by the US, Sun said.
Trump's proposal shares some similarities with the "Deal of the Century" introduced during his previous administration. He advocated for offering Palestine economic incentives. However, Trump largely avoided endorsing the "two-state solution." It's likely that his motivation now is to revive the so-called "Deal of the Century" by addressing the Gaza issue, Liu Zhongmin, a professor from the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
While Trump's plan is not entirely infeasible, it faces significant obstacles. Currently, Gaza is home to more than 2 million Palestinian residents. Although Trump has pushed for Egypt and Jordan to take in displaced Gazans, both nations, having already absorbed millions of Palestinian refugees in the past, have strongly rejected the proposal, Liu said.
Trump's transactional approach may use economic or political leverage to push Egypt and Jordan into concession, said Liu, noting that another key challenge for Trump's reconstruction plan for Gaza is how to address Hamas while also meeting Israel's demands.
Trump's plan cannot address the core issues of the Palestinian conflict. While he seeks to expedite Gaza's reconstruction with a quick-fix approach, the US-Israel relationship during his previous term—highlighted by actions such as recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights — raises concerns that, even after Gaza is rebuilt, Israel could ultimately assume control over Gaza, given its close relationship with the US, said Liu.
Under Trump's vision, Gaza's territorial status and governance could face enormous uncertainty, and Palestinian territory and sovereignty could be severely compromised, potentially even sold out once again, said the expert.