In a recent speech, President Donald Trump made a statement suggesting that the US would “take over the Gaza Strip” and “own it.”
Speaking with his signature characteristic bravado, Trump declared that the US has the “opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal” with the embattled territory.
“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 the site,” Trump said.
He added that the region’s current inhabitants live in “hell,” insisting they would be better off under US stewardship.
“The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative,” he contended, calling the region “a demolition site.” Yet many see that line of thinking as deeply dismissive of Palestinians’ connection to the land and their demands for sovereignty.
In the same breath, he also touted that the US can “level the site… and create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
He then repeatedly suggested turning the territory into a tourist attraction, referencing a popular beachfront development. The proposal, he said, would bring “world class” results for Palestinians, whom he portrayed as living among rubble and “fallen concrete.”
“I don’t want to be cute. I don’t want to be a wise guy. But the Riviera of the Middle East—this could be something that could be so bad. This could be so magnificent,” he said.
He argued that “they can occupy all of a beautiful area with homes and safety and they can live out their lives in peace,” but he offered little insight into how Palestinians themselves would participate in the planning process.
When asked about the possibility of US troop deployment, Trump said that, “As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that.”
While Trump has not bared the full details of the plan, Middle Eastern governments, including those of Jordan and Egypt—whom Trump suggested “would open their hearts and give us the kind of land we need”—have not also yet publicly addressed the proposal, leaving it unclear whether such a plan would be acceptable to regional powers.
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