Middle East: “Riviera of the Middle East”: Trump claims Gaza for the USA

US President Donald Trump shocked the Middle East conflict with a new advance. The 78-year-old wants the United States to take control of the Gaza Strip and develop the Palestinian coastal area destroyed by the war economically. “The United States will take over the Gaza Strip,” said Trump after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House in Washington. “We will own him,” he emphasized – and did not rule out to send US troops there to secure these plans. From the Gaza Strip it could become a “Riviera of the Middle East”.

According to Trump’s will, the approximately two million Palestinians, for whom the Gaza Strip is their homeland, should live in other Arab countries in the region. The Republican has been representing this proposal for a while and has therefore met a lot of criticism. The fact that he is now turning this into a business idea should trigger large protests. Just like the threat, in case of doubt, to turn on the military. When asked whether he would send US troops in the coastal strip to fill the security vacuum, Trump said: “If necessary, we will do so.”

The Gaza Strip is a 365 square kilometer area on the Mediterranean between Israel and Egypt. The sealed coastal area, in which there was previously extremely difficult living conditions for the civilian population, was transformed into a rubble field between Israel and Hamas in the war. The war was triggered by a devastating massacre of Hamas, in which around 1,200 people were killed in Israel on October 7, 2023 and more than 250 deported to Gaza. Israel’s army reacted with attacks on the terrorist group that put the Gaza Strip in rubble and ash.

According to UN, around two thirds of all buildings were destroyed or damaged during the war. 90 percent of the approximately 2.1 million people in the Gaza Strip became domestic refugees. According to Palestinian information, which are classified as credible by the United Nations, more than 47,000 people were killed.

Now the US President and former real estate entrepreneur Trump publicly raves that this area of ​​all people has immense potential for economic and real estate development. “I think the potential of the Gaza Strip is incredible,” he said. People from all over the world could live there in the future. The whole thing could simply become “phenomenal” and “great” – and also “wonderful for the Palestinians”.

One will take care of “eliminating all the dangerous non -exploded bombs and other weapons on the site” and “leveling” it in order to then rebuild it again. In this way, “an unlimited number of jobs and living space for people in this area should be created.

The idea of ​​a total compulsory settlement

Trump has long been in favor of completely clearing the Gaza Strip and “relocating” the Palestinians living there into Arab countries: for example to Egypt or Jordan. The resettlement of people against their will is referred to as a forced relocation or displacement.

Trump tries to present it as if he cared for only the well -being of the Palestinians. It describes the coastal area as simply uninhabitable. Everything there was destroyed. “It is unsure, it is unsanitary. It is not a place where people want to live.” Everything is the same for a “demolition area,” he said. “This Gaza thing never worked.” The Gaza strip is a “miserable hole” after a good 15 months of war.

“You have to kill us first”

The idea of ​​a forced relocation of the Palestinians caused a lot of outrage before the memorable press conference. Jordan and Egypt rejected the move because they regarded it as the end of the long efforts around a Palestinian state. The Islamist Hamas, which had taken control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, accused Trump “racism” and an undisguised attempt to deny the Palestinians their inalienable national rights.

Above all, however, the people in the Gaza Strip reacted angrily to Trump’s suggest to drive them away from there. Abdel Aziz Hana, a Palestinian from Gaza, said: “For 15 months I endured the bombing and destruction in Gaza.” He had lost dozens of relatives and loved ones because they shouldn’t have left the Gaza Strip, the 49-year-old father said of seven children, who lives in a tent next to the rubble of his house. “So how can such a stupid man think that we will be left our country?”

Another resident named Abu Mahmoud said that if Trump believes that the Palestinians left their country, he had delusions. “You have to kill us first,” he said, “neither our feet nor our hearts will leave Gaza, even if we are killed in it”. The anger of these men was great before Trump continued to continue his idea and gaza publicly advertised as a seaside resort of the future. Now it should still grow.

Son -in -law with financial interests?

Trump’s advance recalls a statement by his son -in -law Jared Kushner, who described the coastal area of ​​the Gaza Strip as “very valuable” a year ago. The husband Ivanka Trump suggested that Palestinian civilians temporarily relocate to “tidy up” there. During Trump’s first term, Kushner was his Middle East consultant and knotted tight bursts into important players in the region. Critics point out that Kushner, who works in the real estate industry, has economic ambitions in the Middle East – and at the same time is an influential voice in Trump’s environment.

Netanyahu enthusiastic about Trump’s “fresh ideas”

Trump receives support for his Gaza plans from the Israeli Prime Minister. “He sees another future for this piece of land that was the origin of so much terrorism,” said Netanyahu when he appeared with Trump. “This is something that could change the story.” Netanyahu generally raved about Trump’s departure from “conventional ways of thinking” and its “fresh ideas”.

Trump’s return is a blessing for Netanyahu, who was strongly criticized internationally due to the warfare in the Gaza Strip. The Republican received him as the first foreign guest since taking office. Such an invitation directly at the beginning of the term is a strong gesture of support for the right -wing prime minister, who has become very difficult in the past few months at national and international level.

Trump’s pro-Israel policy

The United States is the most important ally of Israel. Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden had held on to Israel despite the increasing criticism of the procedure in Gaza, but was significantly sharper to Netanyah’s government. The relationship between Biden and Netanyahu was tense and the Democratic US President temporarily took a striking distance to the Israeli. Trump, on the other hand, is known as a close ally Netanyahus.

Already in his first term (2017 to 2021), Trump had unilaterally made proisraeli decisions and thus applied the Palestinians against himself. So far, his positioning in Middle East policy has been quite predictable. But Trump’s new advance probably did not see even his biggest critics come.