President Trump reiterated his proposal that the US again take over Gaza, telling Air Force 1 reporters on Sunday that the land strip is a “big real estate site” that is “owned by the US.”
He also said he has built “some beautiful sites for people, Palestinians to live in.” The location of such sites was not clear. Trump has repeatedly suggested that 2 million Palestinians will relocate from the enclave.
Trump's comments added more confusion about the proposal. He made his first announcement last week at a press conference at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The idea has sparked international condemnation, and some critics have compared it to ethnic cleansing. Experts say forced deportation or transfer of the civilian population is a violation of international law and war crimes.
The top official of the Trump administration tried to return the president's comments on Wednesday, the day after he first released the idea. They argued that President Trump had not promised to send American troops to Gaza and that the relocation of Palestinians was temporary.
On Sunday, when Trump was traveling to attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans, he again raised the proposal.
“Think of it as a big real estate site, and the US is going to own it,” he said of Gaza.
“There's no one there,” Trump added. “Hamas isn't there,” he said. He mentioned the militant group that led the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and mentioned the war in Gaza. “We will build other countries of very rich countries in the Middle East. They will build some beautiful places for the people, Palestinians to live,” he said.
Netanyahu praised Trump's vision for the region after the war at a government meeting held in Israel on Sunday. “There are opportunities that we may never dream of, or at least think it's impossible a few months ago, but they are possible,” he said.
“President Trump had a completely different vision,” Netanyahu said for the future of Gaza: He is very determined to do it. ”
When Trump introduced the proposal at the White House last week, his administration had not even had the most basic plan to look into the feasibility of ideas, according to people with debate knowledge. It includes driving away two million Palestinians from Gaza. Trump suggested that they should be moved to countries like Egypt and Jordan, and that both quickly rejected the idea.
At the press conference, Trump said the US would take over the Gaza Strip. “And we'll work with that too.” He said the US was responsible for disposing of the unexploded munitions and rebuilding Gaza, and eventually transforming it into what he called the “Middle Eastern Riviera.”
Hiba Yazbek and Ephrat Livni contributed the report.
