Israel Trump: USA will take over Gaza Strip
US President Donald Trump wants the United States to take control of the Gaza Strip and develop the war-ravaged Palestinian coastal region economically.
05.02.2025, 01:37
SDA
"The US will take over the Gaza Strip," said Trump after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington. "We will own it."
The aim would be to "remove all dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site" and "level it" in order to rebuild it, Trump said. In this way, "an unlimited number of jobs and housing for the people in this area" should be created. After a good 15 months of war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas, he described the Gaza Strip as a "miserable hole".
Trump wants the two million or so Palestinians for whom Gaza is their home to live in other Arab states in the region in future.
Criticism from many sides
The move is highly controversial. The Palestinians reject expulsion. The neighboring countries of Jordan and Egypt do not want to take in the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. The Islamist Hamas accused Trump of "racism" after his comments.
Trump had already emphasized several times before that he considered a "resettlement" of Palestinians from the war-torn Gaza Strip to neighboring Arab countries to be the best solution. "I think they should get a good, fresh, beautiful piece of land, and we'll find people to give money to build it up and make it beautiful and livable and pleasant," he said.
So far, the people of Gaza have had no option but to return to their home, which resembles a "demolition zone", Trump continued. But if there was an alternative, the people would accept it, he speculated. "This Gaza thing has never worked," Trump said.
Is Trump's family pursuing financial interests?
Critics have noted that members of Donald Trump's family may be pursuing their own financial interests in the Gaza Strip. His son-in-law Jared Kushner, who served as a Middle East advisor during Trump's time in office, is still considered an influential voice in his circle. In this role, Kushner forged close relationships with political decision-makers in the Middle East. Critics emphasize that Ivanka Trump's husband, who is active in the real estate industry, has economic ambitions in the region. In February last year, for example, he described the coastal area of the Gaza Strip as "very valuable".
