Trump: I'm Serious About Buying and Owning Gaza

WASHINGTON, MONDAY — United States President Donald Trump has expressed his seriousness in purchasing and owning the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinian people. Following that, with his background as a real estate businessman, he will allow parts of the Gaza area to be rebuilt by countries in the Middle East.

The plan has been flatly rejected by many countries, especially Middle Eastern countries.

Trump conveyed his seriousness again on his way to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl match, Sunday (9/2/2025).

"I am committed to buying and owning Gaza. Regarding the reconstruction, we can leave it to other countries in the Middle East to build part of it. Others can do it under our auspices. However, we are committed to owning it, taking it, and ensuring that Hamas cannot have it back," said Trump.

He argued that the Gaza area is no longer habitable. There is no place left for Palestinians to live in Gaza. "That place is a site of destruction. What remains will be destroyed. Everything will be destroyed," said Trump.

Trump also stated that he is open to the possibility of allowing some Palestinian refugees to enter the US. However, this will be considered on a case-by-case basis. So far, there are no clear parameters.

The statement is yet another remark about Gaza by Trump amidst the ongoing second phase of ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel. A few days ago, Trump mentioned that the military strength of Israel is sufficient to drive out the Palestinian residents in Gaza, so the United States no longer needs to send its troops to evacuate Gaza. Once the evacuation is completed, Israel will hand over the territory to the US Government.

To promote his idea to the countries directly bordering Palestine, according to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Trump is scheduled to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Jordanian King Abdullah II, and even Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). From the beginning of proposing this idea, Trump has already mentioned Egypt and Jordan to accept the presence of Palestinian residents he promised to temporarily relocate during the reconstruction process of Gaza.

"They are partners who must be listened to, they must be invited to discuss. We also have to respect their feelings and see how we build a sustainable plan for the future," said Herzog, Sunday (9/2/2025), while speaking with the US television station, Fox.

Herzog did not say when or where the meeting would take place, and he also did not discuss the substance of the talks. He only mentioned that Trump would meet with King Abdullah in the coming days. The official Jordanian news agency, Petra, reported that King Abdullah II is scheduled to meet Trump in Washington DC, on Tuesday (11/2/2025), after meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Trump's proposal to move Gazans from the Palestinian territories by the US and Israel has no clear legal basis. It is also unclear under what authority Trump and the US will claim Gaza.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is about to begin a Southeast Asian tour, said Sunday that no one has the authority to expel Gazans from their eternal homeland, where they have lived for thousands of years. In his view, Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem belong to the Palestinian people.

"The proposals on Gaza put forward by the new US administration under pressure from the Zionist leaders are nothing worth discussing from our point of view," he said.

Along with Trump's statement, several Middle Eastern countries condemned the statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who hinted that a Palestinian state could be established in the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Not only about the potential establishment of a Palestinian state in the territory of Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu also issued a statement that the Egyptian government prevented Gazans from leaving the territory.

Netanyahu, in an interview with Israel's right-wing pro-government Channel-14 television station, mentioned the Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia. At that time, Netanyahu was answering Yaakov Bardugo's question about the Saudi government's position and the prospects for normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries. He linked Riyadh's position that there would be no progress "without the Saudi state".

He immediately realized his mistake. “(What he meant was) the State of Palestine,” Netanyahu said.

"Unless you want a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia," Netanyahu said. "They (the Saudis) have a lot of territory."

The Saudi Foreign Ministry rejected Netanyahu's statement. In its statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the statement was an attempt to divert attention from the ongoing crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Riyadh called the Palestinian people brothers of the Saudi people.

In its statement, Saudi Arabia said that this extremist occupation mentality does not understand what the Palestinian land means to the Palestinian people. Such a mindset, Riyadh added, does not consider the Palestinian people worthy of life in the first place, as it has completely destroyed the Gaza Strip and killed tens of thousands of people "without the slightest sense of humanity or moral responsibility."

Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the thinking behind Netanyahu's statement was unacceptable and reflected a total disconnect from reality.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the plan as incitement and a clear violation of international law. Amman stressed that the Palestinian people have the right to establish an independent and sovereign state.

Meanwhile, the UAE Foreign Ministry condemned Netanyahu's comments as reprehensible and provocative. The government of Qatar, one of the mediators of the ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel, also called Netanyahu's remarks "provocative."

Trump's plan and Netanyahu's statement are considered not only to endanger efforts to normalize diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but also to trigger anti-American sentiment in the country.

"If this is going to be his policy, he is closing the door on Saudi recognition of Israel," said James Dorsey, a research fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore.

Trump's plan to move Gazans to Egypt and Jordan or even Saudi Arabia poses risks for the Saudi government. Saudi Arabian researcher Aziz Alghasian said that if Gazans are moved to Jordan and Egypt, it will weaken the two countries that have been the mainstays of regional security stability, especially Saudi Arabia. "Trump's plan, coupled with Netanyahu's approach, poses a great risk to Saudi Arabia," Alghasian said.

He added that Trump's transactional attitude and especially Netanyahu's was proof to Saudi Arabia that they were not true partners in realizing peace in Palestine.

Anna Jacobs, a researcher at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said Trump's remarks further exacerbated the situation in the region and fueled anti-American sentiment. "He's making it harder, not easier, for Saudi-Israeli normalization to take place."

Andreas Krieg of King's College London expressed a similar view. Saudi Arabia will not simply agree to normalization with Israel when asked by Washington.

Before the Gaza war, Saudi Arabia negotiated for security guarantees and assistance in developing a civilian nuclear program in return for relations with Israel.

"They are not a vassal state of the US, so they are not just taking orders from Trump," Krieg said.

"And I think they will stick to their positions, willing to negotiate here and there. But the main red lines remain," Krieg added.

He added that Saudi Arabia's position is now very crucial for Riyadh because it legitimizes the country not only among the Arab world, but also countries with Muslim populations.

"No one in Saudi Arabia has any interest in selling a Palestinian state," Krieg said. (AFP/Reuters)