Gaza strip plan from Donald Trump suddenly looks very different

One day after Donald Trump’s controversial advance to take over the Gaza Strip by the United States, the White House largely weakened the statements of the US President. The Palestinians should only be “temporarily relocated” from the coastal area destroyed by the war, said government spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in front of journalists on Wednesday. Israel’s head of government Benjamin Netanyahu called the idea “remarkably” on the late Wednesday evening (local time). Meanwhile, international criticism of the project continued.

The president “clearly” made it clear that “from our partners in the region, especially Egypt and Jordan, he expected to temporarily resume Palestinian refugees so that we can rebuild their apartments,” said Leavitt. The Gaza Strip is currently a “demolition area. It is not a place where people can live”.

In addition, Washington will not participate in financing for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, emphasized Leavitt. “It was made clear to the President that the United States had to participate in the efforts to reconcile in order to ensure stability for all people in the region,” she said. This does not mean that US soldiers are also stationed in the Gaza Strip. And it “does not mean that the American taxpayers will finance these efforts”.

On the question of whether Trump excludes the posting of soldiers in the Gaza Strip, the spokeswoman said: “The President has not yet committed himself.”

Trump had said on Tuesday during a visit to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington that the USA would “take possession of the Gaza Strip in the long term”. All Palestinians living there should be relocated to Egypt or Jordan. The coastal strip destroyed by the war between Israel and Hamas should be rebuilt as a “Riviera of the Middle East”.

When asked whether he is working on options for the posting of troops in the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Pete Hegseth said to journalists on Wednesday, the Washington “looking forward to working with our allies, our partners, both diplomatically and militarily, for all options to check “.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously asserted that Trump’s move was “not hostile”. “I think it was intended as a very generous offer – as an offer, for reconstruction and to take responsibility for the reconstruction,” said Rubio on Wednesday.

Trump only offered to “jump in, to eliminate the debris, to clean the place of all the destruction (…),” explained Rubio. “During this time, the people living there cannot live there,” he added. Trump wanted to support the reconstruction of apartments and shops, “so that people can then move in again”.

Trump’s move for the forced relocation of the Palestinians had triggered a wave of outrage worldwide. The UN, allies with the United States, numerous Arab states and Palestinian representatives clearly rejected the plans.

According to a statement by the Elysée, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his French colleague Emmanuel Macron warned on Wednesday after a phone call that every “forced relocation of the Palestinian population” would also be “an important destabilization factor for Egypt and Jordan” “.

In addition, Al-Sisi called on President Mahmud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority to take control again in the coastal area dominated by Hamas. The Islamist Hamas had violently pushed Abbas’ secular fatah out of the Gaza Strip.

Trump was unimpressed by international criticism on Wednesday. “Everyone loves him,” he said to journalists in the White House about his plan.

Netanyahu had initially commented on Trump’s advance. On Wednesday evening (local time) he called him in a conversation with the broadcaster Fox News “The first good idea I heard”. “It is a remarkable idea and I think it should really be persecuted, checked, persecuted and implemented.” “Another future for everyone” could be created from this.

At the same time, Netanyahu suggested that this does not mean that the Palestinians would have to leave the area forever. “You can go, you can come back, you can be relocated and come back, but you have to rebuild Gaza,” he said.

Hamas had triggered the war in the Gaza Strip with its brutal attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. According to Israeli information, 1210 people were killed and 251 people were dragged into the Gaza strip as hostages.

Israel then started a military offensive in the Palestinian area. According to the health authority controlled by the Hamas, which cannot be checked independently, more than 47,500 people were killed.

Since January 19, a ceasefire mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States has been in force. In the current first phase, Hamas and allied militant groups are supposed to release a total of 33 hostages, in return Israel is ready to relieve 1900 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. In the second phase, all remaining hostages are to be handed over to Israel and a final end to the Gaza War.