GAZA CITY: US President Donald Trump’s shock proposal for the United States to take control of the Gaza Strip and resettle its Palestinian population faced a strong rejection from regional and international leaders, including global rights organisations, Palestinian officials, Middle East leaders and governments around the world on Wednesday.
Trump made his announcement during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he was hosting at the White House for talks.
In a proposal that lacked details on how he would move out more than two million Palestinians or control Gaza, Trump said he would make the Palestinian enclave “unbelievable” by removing unexploded bombs and rubble, and economically redeveloping it.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” Trump said.
He claimed there was support from the “highest leadership” in the Middle East for his idea, but hours later, the leaders of Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany hit back.
Netanyahu, however, welcomed the idea, saying it could “change history” and was worth “paying attention to”.
Suggesting “long-term ownership” by the United States, Trump said his idea would make it “the Riviera of the Middle East. This could be something that could be so magnificent.”
Hamas, which governs Gaza, rejected the proposal, branding it “racist”.
Hamas terms Trump’s plan ‘racist’
In a statement, Hamas said Trump’s plans are “a recipe for creating tension in the region. Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass”.
The Palestinian group said the proposal to “occupy” the territory was “aggressive to our people and cause, won’t serve stability in the region and will only put oil on the fire”.
Palestine Liberation Organisation Meanwhile, the Palestine Liberation Organisation has said that it rejected any plan involving the displacement of Palestinians.
Much of Gaza was levelled in a 15-month Israeli war since October 7, 2023, and Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for sealing a ceasefire agreement that took effect last month.
Riyad Mansour, the leader of the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations, said Palestinians in Gaza should be allowed to reclaim what were once their homes in Israel.
“For those who want to send the Palestinian people to a ‘nice place’, allow them to go back to their original homes in what is now Israel,” he said as quoted by Al-Jazeera.
Serious violation of international law
While Netanyahu’s visit to the White House was billed to focus on a second phase of the truce, it quickly turned into the revelation of a proposal that would, if implemented, completely transform the Middle East.
Trump, who also floated travelling to Gaza, appeared to suggest it would not be rebuilt for Palestinians.
“It should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have… lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there,” Trump said.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas rejected the proposal, saying that “legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable” and that it would constitute a “serious violation” of international law.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said that deporting people from occupied territory was “strictly prohibited” under international law.
It is not the first time that Trump has suggested Palestinians should move from Gaza. In recent days, he has cited Egypt and Jordan as possible destinations, but people from the territory strongly rejected his proposal.
“We create dignity because we are the dignity here, and we say in short to Trump and Netanyahu, Palestine is not for sale,” 24-year-old Gazan Ahmed al-Minawi said as quoted by AFP.
For Palestinians, any attempts to force them out of Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the “Nakba”, or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.
Israelis welcomed Trump’s proposal, though some did not believe it could be achieved.
Trump was vague on the details, but hinted that it could require US boots on the ground in one of the most volatile places on earth “if necessary”.
Saudi Arabia rejects displacement of Palestinians
Saudi Arabia said it would not formalise ties with Israel without a Palestinian state, while rejecting any “attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land”.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry affirms that the Kingdom’s position on the establishment of a Palestinian state is firm and unwavering. It stated that Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister clearly and unequivocally reaffirmed this stance that Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that.
“He (the Saudi Crown Prince) stressed the continuation of efforts to establish a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry stated.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also reaffirmed its unequivocal rejection of any infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, land annexation, or attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land.
“Achieving lasting and just peace is impossible without the Palestinian people obtaining their legitimate rights in accordance with international resolutions, as has been previously clarified to both the former and current US administrations,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry stated.
#Statement | The Foreign Ministry affirms that Saudi Arabia’s position on the establishment of a Palestinian state is firm and unwavering. HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister clearly and unequivocally reaffirmed this stance. pic.twitter.com/0uuoq8h12I
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) February 5, 2025
Egypt, Jordan rejects resettlement from Gaza
Egypt and Jordan have rejected any resettlement from Gaza, with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty calling on Wednesday for a swift reconstruction “without the Palestinians leaving”.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister call came during pre-scheduled talks with Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa in Cairo.
Abdelatty and Mustafa agreed on “the importance of moving forward with early recovery projects… at an accelerated pace… without the Palestinians leaving the Gaza Strip, especially with their commitment to their land and refusal to leave it”, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.
Egypt and Jordan have both said they would not participate in Trump’s plan to “clean out” the territory, calling for the implementation of a two-state solution.
Abdelatty said Egypt believed in the “importance of empowering the Palestinian Authority politically and economically, and its assuming its duties in the Gaza Strip as part of the occupied Palestinian territories”.
Gaza belongs to Palestinians
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also lashed out, saying that relocating Palestinians was something “neither we nor the region can accept”.
“They must be allowed home,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Gaza “belongs to the Palestinians”, while Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said: “We are opposed to the forced transfer of the residents of Gaza.”
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“The civilian population of Gaza must not be expelled and Gaza must not be permanently occupied or repopulated,” Baerbock said in a statement.
The forced displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip would be “unacceptable and contrary to international law”, Baerbock said.
“It would also lead to new suffering and new hatred,” she said. “It is clear that Gaza — like the West Bank and East Jerusalem — belongs to the Palestinians.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s relentless bombardment campaign has killed at least 47,518 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
China, Russia reject forced displacement
China said it was opposed to the “forced transfer” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
“China has always maintained that Palestinian rule over Palestinians is the basic principle of the post-war governance of Gaza, and we are opposed to the forced transfer of the residents of Gaza,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said as quoted by AFP.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said “There are Israeli plans to take full control of the occupied West Bank and attempts to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip,” Al Jazeera reported.
It said, “Practicing a policy of collective punishment is a method that Russia rejects”.
Paul O’Brien, executive director at Amnesty International US, said that removing all Palestinians from Gaza was “tantamount to destroying them as a people”, Al Jazeera quoted.
“Gaza is their home. Gaza’s death and destruction is a result of the government of Israel killing civilians by the thousands, often with US bombs,” Al Jazeera cited Paul O’Brien as saying.
