(AFP) – Palestinian militant group Hamas lashed out Wednesday at President Donald Trump’s shock proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its people in other countries, seemingly whether they want to leave or not. Trump made his announcement to audible gasps 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 war-battered 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 said there was support from the “highest leadership” in the Middle East and upped pressure on Egypt and Jordan to take the Gazans — despite both governments flatly rejecting the idea. 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 seized sole control of Gaza in 2007, rejected the proposal, branding it a “racist” idea. “The American racist stance aligns with the Israeli extreme right’s position in displacing our people and eliminating our cause,” Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou said in a statement. Much of Gaza was levelled in a 15-month war triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, and Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for sealing a ceasefire agreement that took effect last month. Netanyahu, who has vowed to bring home hostages taken by Hamas and to crush its capabilities, said Trump’s plan could “change history” and was worth “paying attention to.” Netanyahu was making the first visit by a foreign leader to the White House since Trump’s return to power, for what were billed as talks on securing a second phase of the truce.
But it quickly turned into the shock revelation of a proposal that would, if implemented, completely transform the face of 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,” he said.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas also rejected the proposal. “President Mahmud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership expressed their strong rejection of calls to seize the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians outside their homeland,” Abbas’s office said in a statement, adding that “legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable.” Palestinians in Gaza have also denounced Trump’s resettlement idea. “Trump thinks Gaza is a pile of garbage — absolutely not,” said 34-year-old Hatem Azzam, a resident of the southern city of Rafah.
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. Trump was vague on the details of how he would execute a takeover, but hinted that it could require US boots on the ground in one of the most volatile places on earth “if necessary.” Standing at a podium beside Trump, Netanyahu hailed Trump as Israel’s “greatest friend” and praised his “willingness to think outside the box.” The two have had tense relations in the past, but Netanyahu has seized on the Republican’s return to power after his ties with former president Joe Biden became strained over the death toll in Gaza.
The Israeli premier would not rule out a return to hostilities with Hamas or with its other foes in the region including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran. “We will end the war by winning the war,” Netanyahu said, while vowing to secure the return of all hostages held by Hamas. He did voice confidence that a deal with regional rival Saudi Arabia to normalise relations was “going to happen.” But after Trump aired his proposal, Saudi Arabia said it would not formalise ties with Israel unless a Palestinian state is established.
Trump’s Gaza proposal is set to face harsh opposition. Egypt, Jordan, and ceasefire mediator Qatar have all rejected Trump’s suggestion of moving Palestinians from Gaza. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said relocating Palestinians was something “neither we nor the region can accept.” China too hit out at the proposal, with its foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian saying: “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.”
The Gaza war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israel’s retaliatory response has killed at least 47,518 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
burs-ser/kir – AFP teams in Gaza City, with Danny Kemp in Washington and Adel Zaanoun in Cairo.
© 2024 AFP
