President Donald Trump only recently came up with his bold proposal — announced unexpectedly during his press conference with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu on Tuesday — that the United States take control of the Gaza Strip, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited sources within the administration.
The president had actually kept the plan under wraps, only discussing it with a select few close aides, while even those preparing for his meeting with Netanyahu were unaware of the idea.
Trump declared during the press conference that “the US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” stating that the nearly 2 million people living in the region should be relocated elsewhere rather than remain in the war-torn area, which he referred to as a “hellhole” and a “demolition site.”
Israel has spent 15 months battling Hamas in Gaza, starting from October 7, 2023, when 3,000 Hamas fighters invaded Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. This eventually led to a precarious hostage-ceasefire arrangement with the terror group last month.
The report indicates that many officials outside Trump’s closest circle were unaware of the plan, and the suggestion caught even some of his staunch pro-Israel supporters off guard. One prominent fundraiser for Trump within the pro-Israel community was quoted calling the idea “insane.”
Trump’s Gaza initiative is part of a larger pattern of presidential actions aimed at extending U.S. territory, the report pointed out. Although some have dismissed these ideas, Trump is said to be “deadly serious,” according to one of his advisers. The report mentioned his efforts to regain control of the Panama Canal, his interest in acquiring Greenland, and his proposals to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.
As early as the summer of 2024, Trump told Netanyahu during a phone call that Gaza would be an excellent location for real estate development and even asked the prime minister what kinds of hotels could be built there, according to a source familiar with the conversation. However, the issue of the U.S. taking over Gaza was not discussed during that call.
A senior aide to Netanyahu revealed to The Times of Israel on Wednesday that Israel was not fully aware of the scope of Trump’s Gaza plan ahead of time. “We knew about the idea, but we were surprised by the scale,” the official commented.
The Wall Street Journal also linked Trump’s Gaza proposal to his history of viewing foreign conflicts through the lens of potential real estate opportunities. For example, in the fall of 2024, during a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump suggested that the city of Odesa could be ideal for new development projects, according to someone familiar with the exchange.
Trump reportedly made similar remarks to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his first term, proposing that development along the Korean coast, including hotels, could entice Kim to abandon his nuclear ambitions.
In February 2024, Trump’s son-in-law and former Middle East adviser Jared Kushner remarked that Gaza’s beachfront properties “could be very valuable.” These comments were met with widespread criticism, with some accusing Kushner of seeking to displace Palestinians and privately develop the area. Kushner later explained that, when considered in full context, his remarks were intended to highlight the misuse of resources by Hamas for tunnels and infrastructure used in attacks, rather than advocating for a peaceful economy.
{Matzav.com}