Donald Trump said during a press conference in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late on Tuesday that the US “will take over” Gaza after relocating Palestinians elsewhere.
Israeli officials have hailed a proposal by US President Donald Trump to forcibly displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and take over the enclave which was under Israeli assault since October 2023.
Trump said during a press conference in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late on Tuesday that the US “will take over” Gaza after relocating Palestinians elsewhere under an extraordinary redevelopment plan that he claimed could turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Trump: ‘US will take over the Gaza Strip’
The ‘US will take over the Gaza Strip’, US President Donald Trump said yesterday during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ‘The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,’ Trump… pic.twitter.com/yucwRTEreG
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) February 5, 2025
‘Dawn of a New Day’ – Amir Ohana
Speaker of the Israeli parliament (the Knesset), Amir Ohana called Trump’s plan “the dawn of a new day.”
“This is what happens when two brave leaders meet,” said Transportation Minister Miri Regev.
A must-watch! @RamzyBaroud https://t.co/ElparZzO3K
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 4, 2025
“One, the leader of the free world, the other, the leader of the only democracy in the Middle East. A new world order. The world will be a better place,” Regev said on X.
Benny Gantz, head of the opposition National Unity Party, said Trump’s remarks are “further proof of the deep alliance between the United States and Israel.”
‘Beautiful Friendship’ – Itamar Ben-Gvir
Former National Security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who recently resigned from the government in opposition to the recent Gaza ceasefire deal, said his party may rejoin the coalition government in the wake of Trump’s remarks.
“I haven’t sewn a new ministerial suit yet, but there is no doubt that the chances of Otzma Yehudit returning to the government have increased,” the far-right politician told Galey Israel Radio, according to the Times of Israel.
Donald, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) February 4, 2025
“Donald, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” he posted on X.
He earlier also said on X: “President Trump on very important things: The only solution to Gaza is to encourage the migration of Gazans. When I said this time and again during the war that this was the solution to Gaza, they mocked me.
“Now it is clear: this is the only solution to the Gaza problem – this is the strategy for the ‘day after’. I call on the Prime Minister to announce the adoption of the plan as soon as possible and to begin immediate practical progress.”
Trump claimed on Tuesday that Palestinians were remaining in the enclave because “they have no alternative” and stated “the US will take over the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas Slams Remarks
Hamas has called on the US administration and Trump to retract these irresponsible remarks, which contradict international laws and the natural rights of our Palestinian people in their land.”
The Resistance movement also called on the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the United Nations “to convene urgently to address these dangerous remarks and to take a firm and historic stance that preserves the national rights of our Palestinian people, their right to self-determination, and the establishment of their Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
‘Law of the Jungle’ – Hamas Urges Trump to Retract ‘Irresponsible Remarks’
Earlier this month, the US president caused an outcry by suggesting that Palestinians in Gaza should be relocated to Jordan and Egypt, calling the enclave a “demolition site” after Israel’s war. His proposal, however, was vehemently rejected by Amman and Cairo.
A six-nation Arab ministerial meeting in Cairo on Saturday firmly rejected Palestinian displacement from Gaza and renewed calls for implementing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
‘Humanitarian Disaster Zone’
Trump’s proposal came after the ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on January 19, pausing Israel’s genocidal assault on the enclave which has killed over 47,500 Palestinians and injured more than 100,000, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
The government has declared the enclave “a humanitarian disaster zone, where all means of basic survival are absent.”
Gaza’s Civil Defense reported finding a “makeshift grave” and recovering “the bodies of 19 martyrs” reportedly targeted by the Israeli army during the raid on Al-Shifa Hospital in March 2024. pic.twitter.com/eEZP6ewuLE
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 4, 2025
“This places an urgent responsibility on the international community and its institutions to intervene immediately and rescue more than 2.4 million people facing death from hunger, thirst, cold, and disease,” the authorities said in a statement on Sunday.
“We hold the occupation, the Biden administration, and all those who provided any form of political, economic, or military support to the occupation responsible for this humanitarian catastrophe that has befallen our people—an unprecedented crisis in history,” it added.
(PC, Anadolu)
