"The United States will take control of the Gaza Strip." With this statement, President Donald Trump has revolutionized the map of the Middle East on Tuesday in a joint appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Suggesting a change in eight decades of foreign policy, the forced and completely illegal displacement of two million people to turn their land into "The Riviera of the Middle East" and attract people from all over the world.
Throughout the day, the president had been playing with different versions of the same idea, stating that the area, completely devastated, is uninhabitable, a "hell" ravaged by bombs, a dangerous place. He also insisted that millions of people "had no alternative" but to leave permanently, preferably to other countries like Jordan or Egypt. And if they had not done so and remained there, it was due to a lack of other options. But after an hour alone with Netanyahu and then with their teams, Trump surprised with a line that will have monumental consequences throughout the region. "I think it is something that could change history and is really worth exploring," celebrated the Israeli.
Trump, when asked if this would involve a military deployment, said he would do "whatever is necessary," and that his country would take charge of the reconstruction. "We will do a great job there. It will be our responsibility to dismantle all unexploded bombs, level the ground, get rid of the destroyed buildings, and clear the area to promote economic development that generates thousands of jobs and housing for the population," he added.
"Right now, it's a hellhole, and we're going to give people the opportunity to live in a great community. I have spoken with many leaders, and they love the idea, they believe it will bring stability to the region," he insisted, saying that the Palestinians cannot handle the reconstruction. "I firmly believe that the Gaza Strip, which has been a symbol of death and destruction for so many decades, should not undergo a process of occupation and reconstruction by the same people who have been there and fought for it and lived there and died there," he concluded.
After putting Panama, Greenland, and even Canada on the wishlist for a new expansionism, the "president of peace" and "America first" made it clear to journalists that this apparent annexation will be a "long-term ownership position", without explaining how he plans to do it, under what mandate, what the Palestinians think, or what this unprecedented move would entail. In just minutes, Palestinian protesters demonstrating against Netanyahu directed their chants near the White House towards the president, shouting that "Palestine is not for sale."
"Regarding Gaza, we will do whatever is necessary. If necessary, we will do it," he reiterated without ruling out the use of troops. "We will take charge of that territory and develop it," he said in the language of the real estate magnate he has always been and without ever considering the opinion of Gazans, for him, they are just collateral damage of a destruction and violent abstract, but without a voice or vote. Trump has decided that they do not want to be there and that they only need a little push to happily go to a better, "great" place.
"Gaza has enormous potential, it can be the Riviera of the Middle East, but it has never worked. We must learn from history; we cannot repeat the mistake over and over again. We have an opportunity. People will be able to live in peace because they currently live in hell. It will be wonderful for the Palestinians, and I have a feeling that the King of Jordan and the generals of Egypt will give us the land for them to live in peace and harmony," he said.
Netanyahu, relaxed, smiling, simply praised Trump, saying he is "the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House," someone who will take the region's conflict "to a new level" because he "is capable of thinking outside the box, of seeing and saying what others are not capable of."
A few days before Donald Trump took office and returned to the White House, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement for a sequenced ceasefire and a plan to release Jewish hostages and Palestinian prisoners. A complicated, delicate plan, full of all kinds of threats. Trump took all the credit, Joe Biden did too, but among the participating actors, there was consensus that without the Republican's electoral victory, the outcome would not have been the same. Trump's envoy for the region pressured Benjamin Netanyahu, threatened him, and forced him to swallow an agreement in which he did not believe and had rejected many times. But to conclude from that Washington was playing a neutral role between the two parties would be a childish and enormous mistake.
Trump forced Netanyahu to claim a victory in his early days and boast, but his almost unconditional support for Israel is evident. Thus, while pressuring Gaza, he gave free rein to Israeli settlers in the West Bank (lifting sanctions) and removed all limits on arms exports imposed by previous administrations. Not only that, but he also made it clear that he wanted the Palestinian population not to return to their homes but to emigrate to countries like Egypt or Jordan.
This Tuesday, the president welcomed Netanyahu to the White House, the first international leader since taking office, and did so with all the political and protocol fanfare. Formally, the purpose of the trip is to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, "as well as broader plans in the Middle East, including expanding the Abraham Accords and relations with Iran." The official visit includes a private bilateral meeting between the two leaders, a meeting with senior officials from both countries, and a dinner.
But the importance goes beyond that. Trump welcomed the Israeli prime minister with several gifts. By signing an executive order by which he definitively withdraws funding from UNRWA, the UN refugee agency, and by withdrawing the US from its Human Rights Council. But above all, he sent the message that most interests the Israeli government: the Palestinians have to leave Gaza. To Jordan, Egypt, or wherever.
"They have no other choice now" but to leave, the president affirmed minutes before the meeting. "I mean, they are there because they have no other choice. What do they have? Gaza is a big pile of rubble right now, I don't know how they could want to stay. It's a demolition site. It's pure demolition," he stated. "This Gaza issue has not worked. It has never worked." Minutes later, he repeated the same idea sitting next to the Israeli, responsible for that destruction, smiling and delighted.
"Great value by the beach"
For a while now, Trump, inspired by his son-in-law's ideas, believes that the land has high real estate potential, "great value by the beach". But his most repeated thesis is that the Palestinians should find another place to live. Not something temporary, but permanent. "If we could find the right land, or several lands, and build them some really nice places, and we should get some people to contribute the money to build it and make it nice and livable and pleasant, that's for sure," he said. "I think it would be much better than going back to Gaza," which he believes will be uninhabitable in the next 10 or 15 years.
Obviously, neither Egypt nor Jordan (King Abdullah will be the second leader to visit the White House this same week) want the Palestinians to go to their territory. And all Arab and Muslim nations have shown their opposition to an explosive idea. "But, have they seen the photos? Have they been there? It's terrible to live. Who can live like that? And it's very dangerous. There are shootings everywhere. There are bombings everywhere, on both sides. No, I think if they had the option to move, either in a large group or in several smaller groups, to take care of the nearly 2 million people, I think they would be happy to do it," he insisted with what seems like a total lack of knowledge of the region's history and sociology.
While insisting that more than two million people should permanently leave their land, the US president lamented aloud: "they will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize." Netanyahu, who praised Trump's "powerful leadership" and role in the negotiations in front of the cameras, laughed when the president added: "it's a shame. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me."