US will take over Gaza and create 'Riviera of the ME,' says Trump

US will take over Gaza and create Riviera of the Middle East, says Trump — U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, February 4, 2025. Photo: AP

WASHINGTON,— U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States should take control of war-torn Gaza, remove its population, and transform the territory into what he called the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Speaking at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump outlined his vision for Gaza, suggesting that Gazan be permanently resettled elsewhere. However, he did not provide details on how such a plan would be carried out.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.” He added that the U.S. would rebuild the enclave, create jobs, and make it a source of regional pride.

Trump’s remarks came hours after he proposed relocating Gaza’s more than two million residents to neighboring countries.

He referred to the enclave, heavily damaged by Israeli military operations, as a “demolition site.” His comments break sharply from longstanding U.S. policy, which has historically supported a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Trump’s proposal is expected to face significant opposition, including from close U.S. allies. Saudi Arabia, which has been in talks with Washington over normalizing relations with Israel, issued a statement rejecting any forced displacement of Gazans.

In Washington, Democratic lawmakers quickly criticized Trump’s statements. A senior Biden administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that the current U.S. government remains committed to opposing mass displacement in Gaza.

Netanyahu, while not directly endorsing Trump’s idea, praised him for “thinking outside the box” and bringing “fresh ideas” to the conflict. The Israeli leader, who has led a military campaign against Hamas since the Islamist group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, avoided commenting on whether he supported a U.S. administration taking control of Gaza.

Trump did not clarify under what legal or military authority the U.S. could take over Gaza, a densely populated coastal strip about 25 miles (40 km) long and six miles (10 km) wide.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri condemned Trump’s remarks, calling them “a recipe for chaos and tension in the region.” He warned that residents in Gaza would reject any effort to forcibly remove them from their land.

Experts have noted that Trump, during his first term, often floated controversial foreign policy ideas that were never implemented. Some believe his latest statements may be part of a broader strategy to shape future negotiations rather than a concrete plan.

A United Nations report released in January estimated that clearing Gaza’s war debris could take 21 years and cost $1.2 billion. Trump did not address the financial or logistical challenges of rebuilding Gaza after more than a year of devastating conflict.

Despite the controversy, Trump reaffirmed his belief that resettling Gazans elsewhere was the best solution. “They have no alternative but to leave,” he said, urging Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab nations to accept displaced Gazans.

Arab leaders have consistently rejected such proposals, and Trump’s latest call for permanent resettlement is likely to deepen tensions in the region.

The ancient Palestinians mentioned in the Bible were not Arabs. They were a people of non-Semitic origin, believed to have come from the Aegean region, possibly from Crete or other islands. They settled on the southern coast of the Canaanites in Palestine around the 12th century BCE.

In contrast, present-day Palestinians are Semitic Arabs who descend from a mix of Arab tribes, Canaanites, and local populations that have lived in Palestine throughout history. Their national identity has especially developed in modern times, and they are part of the broader Arab nation, with Arabic as their language.

It is important to note that the current inhabitants of Gaza and the West Bank are not the original Palestinians, but rather Arabs who adopted the name “Palestinian” over time. The term was used to identify themselves in the context of the modern political and national identity that developed in the region.

Although the name “Palestine” is derived from “Philistia,” the name of the region once inhabited by the ancient Palestinians, there is no direct ethnic link between them and the modern Arab Palestinians.

(With files from Reuters)