Donald Trump Says U.S. Should 'Take Over the Gaza Strip' and Turn It into the 'Riviera of the Middle East': 'We'll Own It'

Mar. 15, 2025

President Donald Trumphas suggested the U.S. “take over” the Gaza Strip and relocate the Palestinian population while it’s being rebuilt.

Speaking in the White House on Tuesday, Feb. 4 alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump insisted he wanted to create something “magnificent,” after the war-torn Gaza Strip was largely destroyed amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Netanyahu was thefirst world leaderto visit Trump at the White House since he took office for his second term on Jan. 20.

“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,” he continued, stating that his plan would “supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”

“If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years,” Trump added.

“We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. I don’t want to be cute, I don’t want to be a wise guy, but the Riviera of the Middle East, this could be something that could be so magnificent,” he added, per the NBC News video.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty

The statement added that “legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable,” and said that Gaza “is an integral part of the State of Palestine,” the BBC reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump at the press conference on Feb. 4, 2025.Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty

Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty

“The Israeli army killed us but we remain in our destroyed houses. We don’t need life outside our land and we will not move one meter away from it so he can say whatever he wants – he can’t beat us,” she added, per the outlet.

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Trump’s remarks sparked outrage from senators including Foreign Relations Committee member, Chris Coons, who said, “You can report that I was speechless … That’s insane. I can’t think of a place on Earth that would welcome American troops less and where any positive outcome is less likely," reportedNBC News.

Michigan Rep.Rashida Tlaib, who is the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress, addedon Xthat “Palestinians aren’t going anywhere.”

source: people.com