Trump Wants US to Take Control of Gaza Strip

WASHINGTON DC, WEDNESDAY – United States President Donald Trump stated that the US wants to take over the Gaza Strip and rebuild the enclave after the Palestinian residents are relocated. The area will be developed into a luxurious and attractive region, similar to the Riviera beach in southeastern France.

The statement without detailed explanation was delivered by Trump during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following a bilateral meeting at the White House, Washington DC, USA, on Tuesday (4/2/2025) or early Wednesday morning WIB.

"The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will complete that job as well," Trump told reporters. "We will have it (the Gaza Strip) and be responsible for disarming all the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons in that place."

"If necessary, we will do that, we will take over that part (region), we will build it, create thousands of jobs, and it will be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of," Trump added.

Trump stated that he does not rule out the possibility of deploying US troops to support the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. When asked who would live in the Gaza Strip later, he replied that the place could become a home for "world citizens."

However, in a quote reported by AFP news agency, Trump gave the impression that the area was not built for the Palestinian people. "(This step) should not be done through the process of rebuilding and occupied by the same people ... who once lived there and died there and lived in terrible conditions there," said Trump, as quoted by AFP.

Trump did not directly answer questions about how and under what authority the US could take over and occupy Gaza. All this time, the US administration under any president, including Trump himself during his first term from 2017-2021, has rejected the deployment of troops to Gaza.

Trump's shocking statement was delivered following his earlier comments on the same day, proposing the permanent relocation of Palestinian residents from Gaza to neighboring countries. Trump has mentioned Egypt and Jordan as destinations for the placement of Gaza residents.

Hamas in a written statement strongly condemned Trump's statement. "We reject Trump's statement that the people of the Gaza Strip have no choice but to leave, and we consider it a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region," Hamas said.

The Saudi Arabian government in a written statement also rejected any attempt to move the Palestinian people from their land. Riyadh also emphasized that it would not establish relations with Israel without an effort to establish a Palestinian state.

Trump's Gaza proposal comes just two weeks after he returned to the White House. Trump has previously expressed his desire for the US to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal. He has also suggested that Canada should become the 51st US state.

Some critics say Trump’s expansionist rhetoric harkens back to old-style imperialism. Such rhetoric could serve as an affirmation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a justification for China to invade Taiwan.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II have issued statements rejecting Trump's proposal. Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of five Arab countries (Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates) and an adviser to the Palestinian president reiterated the rejection in a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Separately, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei called US President Donald Trump's proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza "ethnic cleansing".

Egypt, Jordan and other U.S. partners in the Middle East have warned Trump that relocating Palestinians from Gaza would threaten stability in the Middle East and could escalate conflicts in the region. Trump said he believed Egypt and Jordan — and other countries he did not name — would eventually accept Gazans.

Trump seems to be betting that Egypt and Jordan will comply with his wishes because both countries are huge recipients of US aid.

US media, NBC, January 19, 2025, citing an official from the Trump transition administration, reported that Indonesia had been mentioned and discussed as a destination for the relocation of Gaza residents.

Quoted from US media, NBC, January 19, 2025, a Trump transition government official said, there is a plan to relocate around 2 million Palestinians. One of the relocation locations that has been discussed is Indonesia.

While emphasizing Indonesia's position that firmly rejects all efforts to relocate Gaza residents, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 21, 2025 issued an official statement that the Indonesian Government had never received any information from anyone, or any plans regarding the relocation of some of Gaza's 2 million residents to Indonesia.

Trump’s proposal to take over the Gaza Strip is likely to be met with strong opposition from both US allies and opponents. It runs counter to long-standing Washington policy and the international community’s position that Gaza—like the occupied West Bank—is part of a future Palestinian state.

CNN television reported that Trump's proposal was similar to the idea of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in 2024. At that time, he said that developing Gaza as a luxury housing area on the Mediterranean coast was very promising from a business perspective.

“Gaza waterfront housing is going to be very expensive. It’s a shame what’s going on there. But from an Israeli perspective, I’m going to do my best to get the people out of there and then clean up the area,” Kushner said in March 2024, as Israeli attacks were still raging in the Gaza Strip.

The development of Gaza by the United States, according to Trump, will create a beautiful area like the Riviera or the Cote d'Azur (the southern coast of France where tourists and millionaires live). The location is west of Monaco, one of the places where the world's millionaires live.

Experts have observed that Trump sometimes takes extreme stances on international issues in order to explore the parameters for future negotiations. In his first term, he repeatedly made statements about US foreign policy, but many of them were never implemented.

Trump's remarks on Gaza came as Hamas and Israeli negotiators held the second phase of ceasefire talks in Gaza. The talks were held indirectly with Qatar, Egypt and the US as mediators.

Jonathan Panikoff, a former U.S. Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East, said Trump’s plan would require a long-term U.S. military commitment. If implemented, Panikoff said, it would be seen by the Arab world as showing that Washington “has not learned from [its failures in] state-building in Iraq and Afghanistan.” (AP/AFP/REUTERS)