Trump proposes the US take over Gaza during meeting with Netanyahu in Washington

When asked if the U.S. would permanently occupy Gaza, Trump responded, "I do see a long-term ownership position."
Reporters stand and shout in an attempt to get the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump as he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on February 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to visit Trump since he returned to the White House last month.
Reporters stand and shout in an attempt to get the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump as he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on February 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to visit Trump since he returned to the White House last month. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump met on Tuesday to discuss the Gaza ceasefire, the future of the Strip, and other regional issues in the president’s first meeting with a foreign leader.

Relocating Palestinians from Gaza

During the meeting, Trump reiterated his call to move Palestinians out of Gaza and added that the United States wants to take over control of Gaza for the long term.

“I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza. I think Gaza has been very unlucky for them. Gaza is not a place for people to be living,” Trump said in comments before his meeting with Netanyahu. “I think they should get a good, fresh, beautiful piece of land, and we get some people to put up the money to build it and make it nice and make it habitable and enjoyable.”

“It would be my hope that we could do something really nice, really good, where they wouldn’t want to return. Why would they want to return? The place has been h-ll,” Trump added.

The president simultaneously expressed some opposition to the establishment of Israeli settlements in the area, saying, “I just support cleaning it up and doing something with it.”

In a press conference after their meeting, Trump added that the U.S. would “take over the Gaza Strip.”

“We will do a job with it; we’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all 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,” the president said. In recent weeks, Trump has also proposed that the U.S. take over Greenland, the Panama Canal, and even Canada. 

When asked if the U.S. would send troops to secure Gaza, Trump said, “we’ll do what is necessary, if it’s necessary, we’ll do that.”

When asked if the U.S. would permanently occupy Gaza, Trump responded, “I do see a long-term ownership position, and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East.” He added that he envisioned the Strip being populated by people from across the world, including Palestinians.

The president additionally stressed that his position concerning removing Palestinians from Gaza has no impact on his position concerning a two-state or other solution to the general Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In his previous term in office, Trump supported a two-state solution and proposed a plan to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, but in the past year, he’s expressed reservations about whether a two-state solution is really feasible. In recent interviews, he hasn’t given clear answers about what solution he would want to see instead of a two-state solution.

Netanyahu expressed some support for Trump’s plan for a Gaza takeover, saying, “He has a different idea and I think it’s worth paying attention to this. We’re talking about it. He’s exploring it with his people. I think it’s something that could change history and it’s worthwhile really pursuing this avenue.”

Trump’s plan has faced staunch opposition from Palestinians, Arab leaders, and other world leaders, including most of the states that could be potential hosts for displaced Palestinians.

On Saturday, the foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, as well as the Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, signed a joint statement rejecting Trump’s plan.

The ministers stated that they “rejected any efforts to encourage the transfer or uprooting of Palestinians from their land, under any circumstances or justifications,” noting that “such actions…threaten regional stability, exacerbate the conflict, and undermine the prospects for peace and coexistence among the region’s peoples.”

Reaching the next phase of the ceasefire

Trump expressed hopes that the ceasefire would continue to the second phase and lead to the war’s end while noting the difficulties such an effort would face.

“We’ll see what happens. We’re dealing with very complicated people, but a deal can absolutely get done,” he said.

Trump warned as well that if all the hostages aren’t released, “it will make us somewhat more violent.”

Negotiations concerning phase two of the deal are set to begin this coming weekend in Qatar. Israel will reportedly send a negotiating team headed by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer instead of Mossad chief Ronen Bar, who has headed the team up until now.

The current phase of the deal is supposed to continue until at least the first week of March. Each Saturday, another three hostages will be released, except for the last Saturday when 14 hostages will be released.

Participants lift placards and pictures during a gathering in Tel Aviv on August 5, 2024 to mark the fifth birthday of Ariel Bibas, held hostage in Gaza, and to call for the liberation of him and his family. Ariel, his baby brother Kfir, who would now be one year old, were kidnapped along with their parents Yarden and Shiri from their homes in Nir Oz kibbutz community near Gaza on October 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel.
Participants lift placards and pictures during a gathering in Tel Aviv on August 5, 2024 to mark the fifth birthday of Ariel Bibas, held hostage in Gaza, and to call for the liberation of him and his family. Ariel, his baby brother Kfir, who would now be one year old, were kidnapped along with their parents Yarden and Shiri from their homes in Nir Oz kibbutz community near Gaza on October 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Eighteen hostages have been released so far, with the last release including Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel, and Ofer Calderon. Bibas’ wife, Shiri, and their two young children, Kfir and Ariel, are still held hostage by Hamas, with no clear sign of when they’ll be released.

When announcing the deal last month, then-U.S. president Joe Biden stressed that the first phase of the ceasefire would continue as long as negotiations concerning the second and third phases continued. If the talks collapse, the war in Gaza will seemingly resume.

When agreeing to the deal, Netanyahu assured Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that the war would resume after the first phase and that there would be no second phase. However, in the weeks since, the two have indicated that Smotrich would support a second phase if it includes a solution that would see Hamas leave Gaza. However, there have been no announced plans of how Israel would remove the terrorist group from power without military action, and Hamas likely would not agree to step aside. 

During a press conference after his meeting with Trump, Netanyahu hinted at a possible renewal of the war in Gaza, stressing, “We have to finish the job.”

Is Saudi normalization on the table?

Trump expressed hopes that progress could be made on a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, claiming that Saudi Arabia was not demanding that a deal include a commitment to establish a Palestinian state.

However, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly insisted that it will only consider normalizing relations with Israel if a deal includes a clear path to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman categorically rejected the possibility of normalization without a Palestinian state in September.

“The kingdom will not cease its tireless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and we affirm that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without one,” bin Salman said.

Flags of Saudi Arabia and Israel stand together in a kitchen staging area as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds meetings at the State Department in Washington, DC, October 14, 2021. (Photo by JONATHAN ERNST/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

After Trump’s comments on Tuesday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry reiterated that the kingdom’s position on the establishment of a Palestinian state is “firm and unwavering.”

The Ministry also reiterated that it rejects “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 international community has a duty today to alleviate the severe humanitarian suffering endured by the Palestinian people, who will remain steadfast on their land and will not move from it,” the Ministry stressed. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia emphasizes that this unwavering position is non-negotiable and not subject to compromises. Achieving lasting and just peace is impossible without the Palestinian people obtaining their legitimate rights in accordance with international resolutions, as has been previously clarified to both the former and current U.S. administrations.”

Will the U.S. recognize Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank?

Trump informed reporters that he was discussing recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, often referred to as Judea and Samaria in Hebrew in reference to biblical names of regions in the area.

“People do like the idea, but we haven’t taken a position on it yet, but we will be making an announcement on that very specific topic over the next four weeks,” he said.

Since taking over the West Bank during the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel has held back from annexing the West Bank. Instead, the West Bank is in a grey zone, with Israeli settlements ruled by Israeli law and Palestinian towns and cities governed by the Palestinian Authority.

Proposals have been promoted in the past to have Israel annex at least parts of the West Bank, but these efforts sparked widespread condemnations from the international community and often ignited violence in the region. One of the reasons the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalize relations with Israel in 2020 was a commitment from Israel to halt efforts to annex parts of the West Bank.

U.S. and Israel vs. Iran

The president also referenced the actions he was taking against Iran, including a memorandum he signed on Tuesday to reinstate the “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran.

The memorandum advocates sanctions and enforcement mechanisms. It also instructs the Treasury and the State Department to drive “Iran’s oil exports to zero.”

Trump insisted that he “hated” having to implement sanctions on Iran and hopes that a “great deal” can be reached with Iran concerning its nuclear program.

The moves come as concerns continue to grow that Iran could rush toward developing a nuclear weapon, especially as it’s in a weakened position after the war with Israel.

Israeli officials have been considering a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities due to these concerns. However, many of these facilities are deep underground, deep enough that only bunker busters owned by the U.S. would have a chance of damaging them, and even they may not be enough.

Last month, Rafael Grossi, the head of the IAEA – the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, warned that Iran was “pressing the gas pedal” on uranium enrichment, bringing it near the enrichment level it would need to be at for a nuclear weapon.

The New York Times reported on Monday that American officials have received new intelligence that Iran is considering ways to develop a nuclear weapon more quickly if a decision is made to develop such a weapon, even if the rush would lead to a cruder device.

In September, the Institute for Science and International Security reported that Iran had restarted activities at facilities used in the past for its nuclear weapons program. The new activity reportedly includes high explosive tests and technical research that could be aimed at bringing Iran closer to attaining a nuclear bomb.

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