Washington (TDI): President Donald Trump announced that the US will “take over” and “own” Gaza after relocating Palestinians, as part of a bold redevelopment plan he claims could transform the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East”.
In a shock announcement upending decades of US policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said on Tuesday that his administration would spearhead economic development in Gaza to “supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area”.
“The US will take over the enclave and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” President Trump said at the White House after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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He said that his administration would be responsible for clearing destroyed buildings and “dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons”.
Hamas Condemns Proposal
Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza, immediately condemned the proposal as a “recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region”.
“Our people in Gaza will not allow these plans to pass,” it said in a statement.
“What is needed is an end to the occupation and aggression against our people, not their expulsion from their land. Our people in Gaza have rejected displacement and deportation plans under bombardment for over 15 months.”
In his remarks, Trump suggested the United States would take a “long-term ownership position” over Gaza Strip.
“This was not a decision made lightly. Everybody I have spoken to loves the idea of the US owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be great,” he said.
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Offering few specifics about how his plan would be implemented, President Trump expressed optimism that displaced Palestinians in the enclave would “go to other nations of interest with humanitarian hearts”, though he said Palestinians would also continue living there.
He added Gaza could become home to the “world’s people”.