U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Israel would hand over Gaza to the United States after fighting was over and the enclave’s population was already resettled elsewhere, which he said meant no U.S. troops would be needed on the ground.
A day after worldwide condemnation of Trump’s announcement that he aimed to take over and develop the Gaza Strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, Israel ordered its army to prepare to allow the “voluntary departure” of Gaza’s residents.
Trump, who had previously declined to rule out deploying U.S. troops to Gaza, clarified his plans in comments on his Truth Social web platform.
“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” he said. Palestinians “would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region.”
“No soldiers by the U.S. would be needed!” he said.
Earlier, amid a tide of support in Israel for what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump’s “remarkable” proposal, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered the army to prepare a plan to allow residents who wished to leave to exit Gaza voluntarily.
“I welcome President Trump’s bold plan, Gaza residents should be allowed the freedom to leave and emigrate, as is the norm around the world,” Katz said on X.
Katz said his plan would include exit options via land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air.
Trump’s unexpected announcement on Wednesday, which sparked anger around the Middle East, came as Israel and Hamas were expected to begin talks in Doha on the second stage of a ceasefire deal for Gaza, intended to open the way for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the war.
Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia rejected the proposal outright and Jordan’s King Abdullah, who will meet Trump at the White House next week, said on Wednesday he rejected any attempts to annex land and displace Palestinians.
“We will not sell our land for you, real estate developer. We are hungry, homeless, and desperate but we are not collaborators,” said Abdel Ghani, a father of four living with his family in the ruins of their Gaza City home.
“If (Trump) wants to help, let him come and rebuild for us here.”
DISPLACEMENT
What effect Trump’s shock proposal may have on the ceasefire talks is still unclear. Only 13 of a group of 33 Israeli hostages due for release in the first phase have so far been returned, with three more due to come out on Saturday. Five Thai hostages have also been released.
Hamas official Basem Naim accused Defence Minister Katz of trying to cover up “for a state that has failed to achieve any of its objectives in the war on Gaza”, and said Palestinians are too attached to their land to ever leave.
Displacement of Palestinians has been one of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East for decades. Forced or coerced displacement of a population under military occupation is a war crime, banned under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
A number of hardline Israeli politicians have openly called for Palestinians to be moved from Gaza and there was strong support for Trump’s push among both security hawks and the Jewish settler movement.
Giora Eiland, a former general who attracted wide attention in an earlier stage of the war with his “Generals’ Plan” for a forced displacement of people from northern Gaza, said Trump’s plan was “logical” and aid should not be allowed to reach displaced people returning to northern Gaza.
Israel’s military campaign killed tens of thousands of people after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war. It has forced Palestinians to repeatedly move around within Gaza, seeking safety.
But many say they will never leave the enclave because they fear permanent displacement, like the “Nakba”, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed from homes in the war at the birth of the state of Israel in 1948.
Katz said countries that have opposed Israel’s military operations in Gaza should take in the Palestinians.
“Countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have levelled accusations and false claims against Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories,” he said.
By Reuters
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