Trump proposes US take control of Gaza

Market: Crude oil
05/02/25

US president Donald Trump on Tuesday called for the US to take over Gaza, relocate the population of more than 2mn to other countries and then redevelop the enclave.

Meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, the one-time real estate developer sketched out a plan in which the US would "own" Gaza, level what has become a "demolition site" and remake the territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

Assuming such a role would embroil the US far more deeply in what has been the deadliest conflict in the region in decades.

Asked whether US troops would be involved in his plan, Trump said: "If it's necessary, we'll do that."

Trump did not say where, exactly, the Palestinians from Gaza would be relocated, although he said he had a "feeling, despite them saying no" that Jordan's King Abdullah and Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi "will open their hearts and will give us the kind of land we need to get this done".

Trump said the only reason people want to return to their homes in Gaza is because they believe they have no alternative. Instead, they could be relocated and "live in comfort and peace".

And after the rebuilding is completed, people from "all over the world" would live in the new Gaza — "Palestinians also," Trump said.

Netanyahu praised Trump for his "willingness to puncture conventional thinking" and to propose ideas that could reshape the Middle East.

"You cut to the chase," Netanyahu told Trump during the press conference. "You see things others refuse to see. You say things others refuse to say. And after their jaws drop, people scratch their heads. And they say, ‘You know. He's right.'"

But Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry, in an apparent reaction to Trump's proposal, Tuesday argued the international community has a responsibility to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people "who will remain steadfast on their land and will not move from it".

By David Ivanovich

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26/03/25

Trump to impose new tariffs on auto imports

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26/03/25

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