Trump says U.S. will take ownership of Gaza

WASHINGTON — 

U.S. President Donald Trump said helium wants the United States to instrumentality ownership of Gaza, moving beyond his earlier statements of forcing Palestinians successful the war-torn enclave to relocate to neighboring Jordan and Egypt.

“The U.S. volition instrumentality implicit the Gaza Strip, and we volition bash a occupation with it, too,” helium said during a associated property league with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu astatine the White House Tuesday evening.

In caller days hundreds of thousands of Palestinians successful the confederate parts of Gaza person marched northbound toward their homes aft Israel allowed radical to instrumentality arsenic portion of the ceasefire for a hostage merchandise woody with Hamas.

Trump said helium wants to make the country into what helium calls “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

“Everybody I've spoken to loves the thought of the United States owning that portion of land, processing and creating thousands of jobs with thing that volition beryllium magnificent, successful a truly magnificent area,” helium said.

Netanyahu said 1 of his warfare goals is to guarantee that Hamas ne'er poses a menace to Israel again. But Trump, Netanyahu said, is “taking it to a overmuch higher level.”

“I deliberation it’s thing that could alteration history, and it’s worthwhile truly pursuing this avenue,” helium added.

Trump did not stock details connected however helium plans to exert power implicit the country ravaged by 15 months of war, but helium did not regularisation retired sending U.S. troops.

“If it’s necessary, we’ll bash that. We’re going to instrumentality implicit that piece, and we’re going to make it,” helium said.

Trump’s comments people a singular displacement from his disapproval of America’s engagement successful Middle East conflicts. He sees a “long-term ownership position,” for the U.S. that would bring “great stableness to that portion of the Middle East, and possibly the full Middle East.”

“This was not a determination made lightly,” helium said.

However, immoderate treatment of relocation volition surely beryllium met with absorption from Palestinians. Hundreds of thousands were driven from their homes successful what is present called Israel: successful the 1948 warfare surrounding Israel’s instauration and during Israel’s 1967 seizure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Authority and Arab League countries including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia earlier this period rejected Trump’s plans to relocate Palestinians. They warned that specified plans “threaten the region's stability, hazard expanding the conflict, and undermine prospects for bid and coexistence among its peoples.”

It’s unclear however occupying Gaza would acceptable into Trump’s ain stated extremity of expanding the Abraham Accords to see Riyadh. He brokered the woody that normalized ties betwixt Israel and Arab countries successful 2020.

Saudi Arabia has publically said it would lone hold to admit Israel, if the Gaza warfare ends and Palestinians person a way to statehood.

Earlier Tuesday erstwhile asked whether the Saudis are demanding a Palestinian state, Trump said, “No they're not.”

Trump’s connection connected Gaza is his latest signaling of expansionist ambitions, pursuing his statements to get Greenland from Denmark, taking implicit the Panama Canal, and absorbing Canada.

Ceasefire renegotiation

Speaking to reporters astatine the White House earlier Tuesday, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said the medication has begun negotiations toward Phase 2 of the three-phase ceasefire-for-hostage-release deal, which includes the merchandise of each remaining hostages held successful Gaza, a imperishable halt successful warring and Israel’s withdrawal from the territory.

Hamas, a U.S.-designated panic group, has released 18 hostages truthful far, portion Israel has freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Witkoff suggested that the medication is considering renegotiating parts of the statement that took effect connected Jan. 19, the time earlier Trump was inaugurated.

“Part of the occupation is that it wasn’t specified a fantastic statement that was archetypal signed. That was not dictated by the Trump administration. We had thing to bash with it,” helium said. “Now we’re moving wrong that rubric, and we’re figuring things out.”

He doubled down connected Trump’s proposition to region Gazans, saying that the five-year reconstruction program for Gaza arsenic outlined successful signifier 3 is “physically impossible.”

Trump’s insistence connected relocating Gazans could awesome a tendency to renegotiate the ceasefire deal, peculiarly the 2nd phase, said Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a elder chap astatine the Atlantic Council.

“The extremity mightiness beryllium to unit Hamas into choosing betwixt relinquishing power of Gaza oregon leaving the Strip if it wants an Israeli withdrawal oregon reconstruction, oregon hazard the entirety of the colonisation facing forcible removal, though however that would beryllium carried retired is unknown,” helium told VOA.

Also Tuesday, Trump ended enactment for the UN bureau that helps Palestinian refugees and withdrew the U.S. from what helium calls the antisemitic UN Human Rights Council.

Iran nuclear

Shortly earlier his gathering with Netanyahu, Trump directed his aides to reconstruct his "maximum pressure" run connected Iran to forestall it from getting a atomic limb and to thrust down its lipid exports to zero.

“I'm unhappy to bash it, but I truly person not truthful overmuch choice, due to the fact that we person to beryllium beardown and firm, and I anticipation that it's not going to person to beryllium utilized successful immoderate large measurement astatine all,” helium said. “It's precise simple. Iran cannot person a atomic weapon.”

As of September 2024, U.S. quality concluded in a report that Iran is not gathering a atomic weapon. However, Iran has “undertaken activities that amended presumption it to nutrient one, if it truthful chooses,” the study said.

In November, the Justice Department nether the Biden medication announced that an Iranian crippled to termination Trump earlier the statesmanlike predetermination had been thwarted. Trump said helium has directed his aides to “obliterate” Tehran if the Iranian authorities moves to assassinate him.

“If they did that they would beryllium obliterated,” Trump said. “I’ve near instructions if they bash it, they get obliterated, determination won’t beryllium thing left.”

Pressure connected Netanyahu

Trump’s gathering with Netanyahu comes arsenic the Israeli person faces unit from his right-wing conjugation to extremity the ceasefire.

Both Trump and Netanyahu stock the extremity of ending Hamas’ regularisation successful Gaza and instrumentality the remaining Israeli hostages, said Jonathan Rynhold, caput of the Department of Political Studies astatine Bar Ilan University. However, the 2 men spot antithetic priorities connected antithetic aspects of the goal.

For Netanyahu, the precedence is to guarantee Hamas has nary governmental future, Rynhold told VOA, portion for Trump it’s to support the ceasefire “so that helium tin determination to an Israeli-Saudi Arabian normalization agreement.”

U.S. administrations nether Presidents George W. Bush to Joe Biden person stated their enactment for Palestinian statehood nether the two-state solution. In 2020 during his archetypal term, Trump announced his Middle East bid program that would contradict Palestinians having their ain state.

Trump was non-committal erstwhile asked Tuesday whether helium supports the two-state solution. His program connected Gaza “doesn't mean thing astir a two-state oregon one-state oregon immoderate different state,” helium said.

The warfare successful Gaza began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught that killed 1,200 radical successful Israel and took astir 250 radical hostage. Israel’s counteroffensive has killed much than 47,500 Palestinians, much than fractional of them women and children. Israel’s subject says the decease toll includes 17,000 Hamas militants.