Kicking off his second week of his second term, President Donald Trump just kicked off a new conversation about one of the modern world’s oldest conflicts.
At a White House news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump proposed the United States putting an end to the conflict in Gaza by having the U.S. take ownership of the troubled territory.
“We’re going to take over that piece,” Trump said in the shocking statement, according to CBS News. “We’re going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it’ll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of.”
“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
“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. Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area. Do a real job. Do something different.
“Just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years.”
The startling proposal immediately raised more questions than it answered, primarily, where will the Palestinian occupants of Gaza end up?
As the Associated Press reported Tuesday, in an article headlined “Trump’s Gaza plan has stunned the region. Here’s a look at the serious obstacles it faces,” governments in the Middle East aren’t interested in absorbing the Palestinian population of more than 2 million.
Is Trump making the right choice here?
Yes: 67% (2 Votes)
No: 33% (1 Votes)
“Arab countries will not accept Palestinian refugees,” the AP reported flatly.
“Egypt and Jordan, which made peace with Israel decades ago, have repeatedly rejected previous proposals to resettle Palestinians within their borders.”
In a joint statment last week, according to the AP, “Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League” rejected previous Trump statements regarding relocating the Palestinians.
Netanyahu, who prosecuted the war against the Hamas terrorist group often in defiance of the Biden-Harris administration, described Trump’s proposal as a move that could “change history,” according to CBS.
“We’re talking about it. He’s exploring it with his people, with his staff,” he said, according to the network.
“I think it’s something that could change history, and it’s worthwhile really pursuing this avenue.”
In the U.S., Democrats had a different take.
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, published a post on the social media platform X calling the idea nothing but a distraction.
I have news for you – we aren’t taking over Gaza.
But the media and the chattering class will focus on it for a few days and Trump will have succeeded in distracting everyone from the real story – the billionaires seizing government to steal from regular people.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 5, 2025
“I have news for you – we aren’t taking over Gaza,” Murphy wrote. “But the media and the chattering class will focus on it for a few days and Trump will have succeeded in distracting everyone from the real story – the billionaires seizing government to steal from regular people.”
If that’s the best answer Democrats can come up with — after losing a presidential campaign bankrolled by billionaires and too many Hollywood celebrities to list — Trump has shown again that only weeks into his new administration, he has his political foes shocked, too.
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