President Donald Trump announced during a press conference on Tuesday that the United States is preparing to take control of the embattled Gaza Strip, rebuilding the region’s devastated infrastructure and ending the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Trump’s surprise unveiling of the plan, which came during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has already sparked significant international backlash, particularly over Trump’s suggestion that 1.7 million Palestinians will be relocated—possibly permanently—during the reconstruction process.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza strip and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said. “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,” he continued. “Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
"The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too." –President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/aCqLl9Gwwn
— President Donald J. Trump (@POTUS) February 5, 2025
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To accomplish this, Trump said that he is open to establishing long-term US control of Gaza, by means of military force, if necessary.
“I think we will be a great keeper of something that is very, very strong, very powerful, and very, very good for the area, not just for Israel, for the entire Middle East,” he said. “There will be jobs for everyone. Everyone I have spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.”
As for the estimated 1.7 million Palestinians citizens currently inhabiting the Strip, Trump maintained that the war-torn region is no longer a suitable home, necessitating their relocation—and idea by which he said the refugees would be “thrilled.”
“I don’t know how they could want to stay. It’s a demolition site,” he said, highlighting the extensive devastation wrought by the 15-month Israeli invasion, which came in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attacks.
“I don’t think people should be going back,” the president continued. “You can’t live in Gaza right now. I think we need another location. I think it should be a location that’s going to make people happy.”
While fielding questions from reporters, Trump said that the resettlements could take place in Jordan and Egypt—both of which have adamantly refused to accept Palestinian refugees since the war began—but would not necessarily be limited to Middle Eastern or Muslim-majority nations.
“If we could find the right piece of land, or numerous pieces of land, and build them some really nice places, there’s plenty of money in the area for sure, I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza, which has had just decades and decades of death.”
On the subject of Egypt and Jordan, Trump said “they won’t tell me no..”
“I want to remove all the residents of Gaza,” he told reporters. “It will happen.”
Though not explicitly mentioned during his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump’s proposal aligns strikingly with a leaked internal document from the Israeli Intelligence Ministry that was drafted just days after the October 7 attacks. In this policy document, the Ministry proposed, among other things, the forcible relocation of the Palestinian population into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, where refugee camps would be established.
From there, the Israeli government would oversee efforts to transfer the Palestinians to neighboring Muslim nations, followed by nations in Europe, and then the United States and Canada.
At the time, this document was downplayed as a “hypothetical exercise,” not a formal policy proposal. However, Trump’s promise of American involvement in the conflict means this proposal is now poised to become a reality.
Once Gaza is rebuilt under American supervision, Trump envisions the “world’s people” living in Gaza alongside the Palestinian population, creating a thriving multinational community free from the influence of extremists.
“I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable and I think representatives from all over the world will be there,” he said, describing the new Gaza as the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
“I think it’s something that could change history and I think it is worth pursuing this avenue,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said in response to Trump’s proposal. “This is the kind of thinking that will reshape the Middle East, and bring peace.”
Ahead of the press conference, Netanyahu also called Trump the “greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House” and told him that “the people of Israel have such enormous respect for you.”
Connor Walcott is the lead writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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