WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday (Feb 4) that the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere and develop it economically, a move that would shatter decades of US policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Trump unveiled his surprise plan, without providing specifics, at a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The announcement followed Trump's shock proposal earlier on Tuesday for the permanent resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries, calling the enclave — where the first phase of a fragile ceasefire is in effect — a "demolition site."

"The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too," Trump told reporters. "We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site."

"If it's necessary, we'll do that, we're going to take over that piece, we're going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it'll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of," Trump added.

Asked who would live there, Trump said it could become a home to "the world's people."

Netanyahu said Trump was "thinking outside the box with fresh ideas" and was "showing willingness to puncture conventional thinking."

Questions about US authority

But Trump did not directly respond to a question of how and under what authority the US can take over the land of Gaza and occupy it in the long term.

"I do see a long-term ownership position and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East," he said, adding that he had spoken to regional leaders and they supported the idea.

"I've studied this very closely over a lot of months," Trump added, saying he would visit Gaza but without saying when.

Trump earlier repeated his call for Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states to take in Gazans, saying Palestinians there had no alternative but to abandon the coastal strip, which must be rebuilt after nearly 16 months of a devastating war between Israel and Hamas militants.

But this time Trump said he would support resettling Palestinians "permanently," going beyond his previous suggestions that Arab leaders had already steadfastly rejected.

Forced displacement of Gaza's population would likely be a violation of international law and would be fiercely opposed not only in the region but also by Washington's Western allies. Some human rights advocates liken the idea to ethnic cleansing.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri condemned Trump's calls for Gazans to leave as "expulsion from their land."

"We consider them a recipe for generating chaos and tension in the region because the people of Gaza will not allow such plans to pass," he said.

Trump offered no specifics on how a resettlement process could be implemented but his proposal echoed the wishes of Israel's far right and contradicted former President Joe Biden's commitment against mass displacement of Palestinians.

'Demolition site'

Just two weeks into his second term, Trump was hosting Netanyahu at the White House to discuss the future of the Gaza ceasefire, strategies to counter Iran and hopes for a renewed push for an Israeli-Saudi normalisation deal.

"It's a pure demolition site," Trump, speaking shortly before Netanyahu arrived, said of Gaza earlier.

"If we could find the right piece of land, or numerous pieces of land, and build them some really nice places with plenty of money in the area, that's for sure. I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza."

"I don't know how they (Palestinians) could want to stay," Trump said when asked about the reaction of Palestinian and Arab leaders to his proposal.

With Netanyahu at his side in the Oval Office, Trump later made similar remarks but suggested that Palestinians should leave Gaza for good "in nice homes and where they can be happy and not be shot, not be killed."

"They are not going to want to go back to Gaza," he said.

Reasserting his proposal at a joint press conference after their talks, Trump described the Gaza Strip as a longtime "symbol of death and destruction" and said Palestinians there should be housed in "various domains" in other countries. He said the US will take over the Gaza Strip, "level the site" and create economic development but did not say how.

Source: Reuters