The Palestinian armed group Hamas on Wednesday opposed President Donald Trump’s surprise proposal that the United States take control of the Gaza Strip and resettle its people in other countries, whether they want to leave or not. Trump made the announcement at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was at the White House for talks.
In a proposal that did not detail how to evacuate more than two million Palestinians or how to control Gaza, Trump said he would make the war-torn region “incredible” by removing unexploded bombs and rubble and redeveloping the economy. “The United States will take control of the Gaza Strip and we will work with it, we will own it,” Trump said.
He said that while both the Egyptian and Jordanian governments have explicitly rejected the idea, there is support from the “supreme leadership” in the Middle East, which has increased pressure on those two countries to take in the Gazans.
Suggesting “long-term ownership” by the United States, Trump said his idea would make it “the Riviera of the Middle East. It could be something that could be very grand.” Hamas, which seized sole control of Gaza in 2007, rejected the proposal, calling it a “nationalist” idea.
“The American racist approach is consistent with the Israeli far-right position of displacing our people and eliminating our cause,” Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou said in a statement. Much of Gaza was devastated in the 15-month war sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, and Trump has taken credit for brokering the ceasefire deal that took effect last month.
Netanyahu, who has vowed to bring home hostages held by Hamas and crush its capabilities, said Trump’s plan could “change history” and was “worthy of attention.” Netanyahu was the first foreign leader to visit the White House after Trump returned to power, in what was billed as talks to secure the second phase of the ceasefire.
Bad state
But it quickly turned into the revelation of a surprising proposal that, if implemented, would completely change the face of the Middle East. Trump, who also spoke about his visit to Gaza, indicated that it would not be rebuilt for the Palestinians.
“It should not go through a process of reconstruction and occupation by the same people who… lived there and died there and lived miserable lives there,” he said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also rejected the proposal.
“President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership expressed their strong rejection of calls to occupy 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 opposed Trump’s resettlement idea. “Trump thinks of Gaza as a garbage dump – not at all,” said Hatem Azam, 34, a resident of the southern city of Rafah. For the Palestinians, any attempt to force them out of Gaza would evoke the dark memory of the mass displacement of Palestinians during the creation of Israel in 1948, which the Arab world calls the “Nakba,” or catastrophe.
While unclear on the details of how to take control, Trump indicated that US troops could be deployed to one of the most volatile places on Earth “if necessary.” Standing at a podium next to Trump, Netanyahu praised Trump as Israel’s “greatest friend” and praised his “willingness to think outside the box.”
The two have had a strained relationship in the past, but Netanyahu has accepted the Republicans’ return to power after his relationship with former President Joe Biden soured over the death toll in Gaza.
Winning the war
The Israeli prime minister did not rule out the possibility of renewed war with Hamas, or with other enemies in the region, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran. “We will end the war by winning the war,” he said, promising the safe return of all hostages taken by Hamas.
He expressed confidence that an agreement to normalize relations with regional rival Saudi Arabia is “going to happen.” But after Trump made his proposal public, Saudi Arabia said it would not have formal relations with Israel until a Palestinian state was established.
Trump’s Gaza proposal appears set to face strong opposition. Egypt, Jordan and ceasefire mediator Qatar have all rejected Trump’s suggestion to move Palestinians from Gaza. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that relocating Palestinians was something “neither we nor the region can accept.”
China has also opposed the proposal. Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said, “China has always held that Palestinian self-determination is the basic principle of post-war governance in Gaza, and we oppose the forced transfer of Gaza residents.”
The Gaza War began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. The attack killed 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures. Israel’s response has killed at least 47,518 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-controlled territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures credible.
