President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. would take over Gaza and remove debris, tunnels, and explosives left there by Hamas after the war with Israel, adding that he saw America taking a “long-term ownership position.”
Trump said: “The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll love it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous bombs and other weapons on the site… and get rid of the destroyed buildings [and] create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing.”
The surprise announcement came as the president spoke alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit Trump since his Inauguration last month.
Trump had previously said that he would like to see most, or all, of the Palestinian population of Gaza moved to another Arab or Muslim country.
The idea of actually taking over Gaza, and establishing a U.S. presence, was both unexpected and completely new.
Trump added that the U.S. would develop Gaza economically, sending troops if necessary and making investments.
He called the potential of Gaza “unbelieveable,” but said that Palesitnian control of Gaza “will never work.” He added: “You have to learn from history … We have an opportunity to do something phenomenal … the Riviera of the Middle East.”
He said that he envisioned “the world’s people” living there, adding: “I think you’ll make [Gaza] into an international. unbelievable place. I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable. And I think the entire world, representatives from all over the world will be there.”
A reporter asked Trump what right the U.S. had to take over Gaza, calling it, inaccurately, “sovereign territory” (there is no Palestinian state and no sovereign power in the territory).
Trump did not reply directly but said that American control of Gaza would increase “stability” in the region as the various nations pursued peace together.
Netanyahu, who had never publicly advocated for anything like what Trump proposed, said that the idea was “something that could change history” and that it was “worth considering.”
It is considered taboo, even in Israel, to advocate for the “transfer” of Palestinians from Gaza or from Judea and Samaria (also known as the West Bank).
Trump has previously proposed buying Greenland, so he is not averse to the idea of America taking over territory abroad. However, the idea of taking over war-torn Gaza is completely unique and quite possibly revolutionary.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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