President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States will take control of war-torn Gaza, as he addressed reporters at the White House after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the country’s conflict with Hamas.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it. And be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on this site,” Trump said.
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,” he said.
He said 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, Turkey, 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 seized sole control of Gaza in 2007, rejected the proposal, branding it a” racist” idea.
In a statement, the group said Trump’s 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”.
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.
