GAZA STRIP (Dispatches) – President Donald Trump’s bizarre announcement that the U.S. will “take over” Gaza has sparked confused and angry reactions across the globe.
On Tuesday, at a joint press conference alongside Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said that the U.S. is looking into running Gaza for the foreseeable future and to displace Palestinians from their homeland.
“Everybody I’ve 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,” Trump told reporters after a three-hour meeting with Netanyahu.
Earlier in the day he insisted that Palestinians have no other alternative but to leave Gaza and go somewhere “good, fresh, beautiful” without the prospect of returning, and again called on Jordan and Egypt to take in the forcibly expelled Palestinians, along with other unnamed countries.
Hamas has rejected Trump’s surprise plans on Gaza, calling it “racist” and focused at eliminating the Palestinian cause.
“The American racist stance aligns with the Israeli extreme right’s position in displacing our people and eliminating our cause,” Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanou said in a statement.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, along with Palestinian leadership, strongly rejected suggestions of a U.S. takeover of Gaza and the forcible expulsion of Palestinians there.
In response to U.S. proposals, Abbas said: “We will not allow any harm to the rights of our people, for which we have struggled for decades and paid a heavy price to achieve.
“These calls are a grave violation of international law, and there will be no peace or stability without a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, within the 1967 borders, based on the two-state solution.”
He emphasized that Gaza,
alongside the occupied West Bank and East Al-Quds, has been an inseparable part of Palestine since 1967.
Abbas also thanked the Arab nations, particularly Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, for their opposition to the U.S. plan of displacement.
He urged the UN secretary-general and the Security Council to take swift action to protect international law and end the Israeli occupation.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry asserted its position on Wednesday that the establishment of a Palestinian state “is firm and unwavering”.
Officials said the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without the existence of a Palestinian state.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also reaffirmed its unequivocal rejection of any infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, “whether through Israeli settlement policies, land annexation, or attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land”.
The ministry’s statement concluded by asserting that their position is “non-negotiable and not subject to compromises”, adding that Riyadh’s position on achieving rights for Palestinians has been clarified to the former and current U.S. presidents.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters that the U.S. president’s plans to displace Palestinians living Gaza were “unacceptable”.
“The issue of deportation regarding Gaza is a situation that neither the region nor we can accept, even thinking about it is a waste of time, even bringing it up for discussion is wrong,” he told Anadolu Agency during a live broadcast.
The minister further warned that the world is shifting towards a “law of the jungle”, where there are no considerations for the needs of others.
China said it opposed the president’s plans in Gaza, adding that it is against the forced displacement of Palestinians to neighboring countries.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters that Beijing “has always believed that ‘the Palestinians governing Palestine’ is the fundamental principle for postwar governance in Gaza.”
“We oppose the forced displacement and relocation of the population in Gaza,” Lin added.
France joined criticism of a U.S. takeover of Gaza, saying that the future of Gaza must not involve “control by a third state”.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed that the Gaza Strip “belongs to the Palestinians”.
“The civilian population of Gaza must not be expelled and Gaza must not be permanently occupied or repopulated,” Baerbock said in a statement.
“It is clear that Gaza, like the West Bank and east Jerusalem (Al-Quds), belongs to the Palestinians. They form the basis for a future Palestinian state.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that “there are Israeli plans to take full control of the occupied West Bank and attempts to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip”, adding that “practising a policy of collective punishment is a method that Russia rejects”.
A motion signed by more than 30 MPs from several parties was tabled in the UK parliament urging the Labor government to take action.
Tabled by Labor MP Richard Burgon, the motion came after Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Trump is correct that Gaza is “lying in rubble”, while insisting that Palestinians must be able to “live and prosper” in Gaza.
Notably, Lammy stopped short of condemning Trump’s remarks, drawing criticism from opposition politicians.
The parliamentary motion declares: “This House rejects the proposals for Gaza from U.S. President Donald Trump.”