President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that “everyone loves” his recently announced plan for the US to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate Gazans living there to rebuild the area.
“Everyone loves my Gaza idea,” was the sentence Trump told reporters on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after his statement that the “US should own Gaza.”
During Tuesday’s press conference and Q&A with reporters inside the Oval Office, Trump elaborated on the details of his Gaza plan.
He told The Jerusalem Post that his plans will leave the Gaza Strip to Egypt, Jordan, and other countries in the region, where “one or several [relocation] sites will be built.”
Trump said that these sites will be paid for by countries in the region. In the meantime, the US will rebuild Gaza, in a process that will take 10-15 years, and might even send boots on the ground.
Netanyahu beams
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, standing next to him, didn’t hide his smile while the president spoke about the idea. However, Netanyahu refused to say in his own words that he supported the idea.
“He [Trump] sees a different future for that piece of land,” Netanyahu told reporters.
“There were many trials and so many tribulations. He has a different idea, and I think it’s worth paying attention to this.” Netanyahu continued.
A senior Israeli official added later that “Trump came up with ingenious solutions to the problems that have accompanied the State of Israel since its establishment.”
Mixed reactions to Trump’s plan
Although it seems Trump is going all the way with the idea, Arab countries say they won’t agree to the plan. Jordan’s King Abdullah II stated, “We reject any attempts to displace Palestinians and annex their lands.”
The UAE Foreign Office said in a statement, “We stressed its categorical rejection of any infringement on the Palestinians’ unalienable rights and any attempts of displacement.”
“Trump also said himself that you cannot force Palestinians to leave Gaza and that they will do what they want to do. “I think the Arab countries’ “no” to massive immigration of everyone from Gaza is a “no.” But maybe, just maybe, they will agree to smaller numbers, although it’s hard to see them agreeing to pay for it.”
One Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post that Trump’s plan might be used as leverage to reach normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
The Saudis have stated that they demand a path toward a Palestinian state in any normalization accord.
Former United States ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, told The Jerusalem Post that the US may be able to present themselves as the “saviors” of the Palestinians in Gaza. This will come as compensation for Netanyahu’s unwillingness to present a vision towards a Palestinian state, just as the UAE said in 2020 that they signed the Abraham Accords in order to stop Israel from annexing territory in the West Bank.
“Up until now, the Saudis have been quite clear about what they demand – At 4 a.m., they published a statement that they are not giving up on a Palestinian state”, Shapiro told the Post.
“It is possible that Trump will use this Gaza initiative as leverage to lower their price regarding normalization,” Shapiro added.
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