Trump says Gazans can’t go home
Displaced Palestinians will not be allowed to return to Gaza as part of the U.S. plan for the region, said U.S. President Donald Trump in a recent interview.
Asked by Fox News’s Bret Baier whether Palestinians would be permitted to return to Gaza, the President replied: “No, they wouldn’t because they’re going to have much better housing. In other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them.”
In separate comments made on Air Force One, Trump told reporters to think of Gaza “as a big real estate site, and the United States is going to own it.”
In recent days Trump has repeatedly referenced the U.S. owning Gaza and relocating Palestinians to other countries, such as Jordan and Egypt. On Monday, he threatened to cut aid to the two countries if they did not accept Gazans. Trump is meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah at the White House this week.
Trump has repeatedly referenced the U.S. owning Gaza and relocating Palestinians to other countries, such as Jordan and Egypt. On Monday, he threatened to cut aid to the two countries if they did not accept Gazans.
After his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week he unveiled his plan to take over Gaza.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,” said Trump. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings — level it out. Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area. Do a real job. Do something different.”
“We should go to other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts, and there are many of them that want to do this, and build various domains that will ultimately be occupied by the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza, ending the death and destruction and, frankly, bad luck,” he added.
The comments were condemned by human rights groups, Palestine advocates, and many Democratic lawmakers.
“Palestinians aren’t going anywhere,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). “This president can only spew this fanatical bullshit because of bipartisan support in Congress for funding genocide and ethnic cleansing. It’s time for my two-state solution colleagues to speak up.”
“Anyone who believes that Palestinians will leave Gaza doesn’t understand the relationship that Indigenous people have with their native homeland,” tweeted U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR). “The love for our land runs deeper than colonizers could ever imagine. Our steadfast people refuse to be uprooted.”
Even some Republicans expressed concerns about the plan.
“I think that would be an interesting proposal,” saidthe usually hawkish Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). “We’ll see what our Arab friends say about that. I think most South Carolinians would probably not be excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza. It might be problematic.”
However, Trump’s proposal was embraced by a number of pro-Israel groups and members of the Israeli government.
“Trump’s…statement is an extraordinary declaration that could assure the end of the Islamic-Arab terrorist group Hamas, and secure southern Israel after decades of terrorist attacks and missile launches from Hamas in Gaza,” said Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton Klein. “It will also be a major step towards a real peace in the region.”
“President Trump came with a completely different, much better vision for Israel – a revolutionary, creative approach that we are currently discussing,” said Netanyahu. “He is very determined to implement it, and I believe it opens up many, many possibilities for us.”
The vision also seems to have vast support from the Israeli population. A poll from the Jewish People Policy Institute Israel Index found that roughly 80% of Israelis back the idea.
Trump’s comments about Palestinians being prohibited from returning to their land contradict other recent statements from members of his administration.
Answering a reporter’s question during a visit to the Dominican Republic, Secretary of State Marco Rubio seemed to imply that Palestinians would only be blocked from entering Gaza for a certain amount of time.
“I think that’s just a realistic reality, that in order to fix a place like that, people are going to have to live somewhere else in the interim,” said Rubio.
In response to the backlash from Trump’s original statement about Gaza being taken over, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that Gazans would only removed “temporarily.”
“The president has made it clear that they need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza for the rebuilding… as it’s a demolition site right now, it’s not a livable place for any human being,” saidLeavitt.
These aren’t the only inflammatory comments that Trump has made about the region in recent days. On Monday, he said that “all hell is going to break out” if Hamas does not release the remaining Israeli hostages by “12 o’clock on Saturday.”
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the captives would only be released if Israel follows the ceasefire agreement. The group has threatened to delay the release of hostages on Saturday, saying that Israel has broken the agreement by blocking humanitarian aid.
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