(CN) — Despite worldwide condemnation, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday doubled down on his idea to take over Gaza, relocate its Palestinian population and turn the strip into the “riviera of the Middle East.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he wanted Israel to turn over the Gaza Strip “at the conclusion of fighting” and let the United States “slowly and carefully begin the construction of what would become one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth.”
The world has reacted with astonishment, fury, ridicule and confusion to Trump’s plan, which he unveiled Tuesday night at a news conference at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side.
On Wednesday, the United Nations warned any forced displacement of Palestinians would be “tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
About 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza and the world has witnessed striking images of hundreds of thousands of people returning to their destroyed Gaza homes in recent days. Gaza is one of the world’s most densely populated places, but it has been largely turned to rubble under Israeli bombardment since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas. Gaza and the West Bank make up the occupied territories of the Palestinian state.
Trump’s proposal has been blasted by world leaders, newspaper columnists, geopolitical experts and Palestinians as a violation of international laws, an act of ethnic cleansing, imperialistic hubris, reckless and more fuel to the fires raging in the war-torn Middle East. Netanyahu’s appearance at the White House despite a warrant issued for his arrest by International Criminal Court made the news conference even more a mockery of international law for many observers.
“For those who refuse to call a spade a spade, Trump is making things easy: he promises ethnic cleansing, luxury colonies and American control over the territory,” Luz Gómez, a columnist and professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the Autonomous University of Madrid, said in an El País newspaper column. “If anyone needed more proof that Trump is a fascist, here it is.”
Other European newspapers issued similar scathing views about Trump’s far-fetched Gaza proposal. Few analysts believe it can be carried out, not least because it would face stiff resistance from Hamas fighters. Trump has said U.S. soldiers would not be sent as part of his rebuilding plan.
‘A different future for everyone’
The war in Gaza is at a crucial stage as negotiations began Thursday on the second phase of a fragile ceasefire that has allowed the handover of Israeli hostages by Hamas and the release of Palestinian prisoners by Israel. The truce also has allowed the delivery of aid to desperate Gazans.
For its part, Israel promptly backed Trump’s plan with Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday, ordering the army to prepare for “voluntary” departures from Gaza. Polls show most Israelis support Trump’s plans, according to Israeli media and experts.
In a provocative move, Katz said Palestinians who want to leave could be taken in by Ireland, Spain and Norway, countries that angered Israel by recognizing Palestinian statehood. Those countries flatly rejected the suggestion.
Netanyahu called Trump’s plan “remarkable” during a Wednesday interview on Fox News.
“I think it should be really pursued, examined, pursued and done, because I think it will create a different future for everyone,” Netanyahu said.
Israel’s far-right politicians are embracing the Trump plan with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrichs saying on Wednesday he would “definitively bury” propositions for a Palestinian state.
Arab leaders were the first to condemn Trump’s vision for the Gaza Strip. Saudi Arabia declared its “unwavering” support for the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Without that, Saudi Arabia said it would reject entering diplomatic relations with Israel.
Prior to Tuesday, Trump said residents of Gaza should move to Egypt and Jordan, both of which have refused to allow Palestinians to settle on their territory. Both countries are allies to the U.S., but they see Palestinian resettlement as a danger to their internal stability.
Many of the residents of Gaza are descendants of families displaced during Israel’s creation in 1948, brutal events known as the “Nakba,” or “catastrophe.” For Palestinians, Trump’s call to empty Gaza was a reminder of 1948.
Hamas, the militant group that took control of Gaza in 2007, labeled Trump’s proposal as “racist” and “aggressive.” Hamas has vowed to fight any attempt by the U.S. to seize control of Gaza.
European leaders also castigated Trump.
“An expulsion of the Palestinian civilian population from Gaza would not only be unacceptable and contrary to international law. It would also lead to new suffering and new hatred,” said Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign affairs minister, in a statement. “There must be no solution over the heads of the Palestinians.”
France’s foreign ministry echoed that sentiment, saying any forced relocation of Palestinians would violate international law and amount to an “attack on the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians and also a major obstacle to the two-state solution.”
“I want to make something very clear: Gaza is the land of Palestinian Gazans and they must remain in Gaza,” Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said. “Gaza is part of the future Palestinian state.”
The United Kingdom, Washington’s closest ally in Europe, also rejected Trump’s idea. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Gazans “must be allowed home” and “allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution.”
Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.