Help bring aid trucks into Gaza: LifeFunder
(LifeSiteNews) — On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said the United States would “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip, a generally unanticipated announcement he gave during a White House press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. 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, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for people of the area,” Trump asserted.
Though having campaigned on “dismantling the entire globalist neocon establishment that is perpetually dragging us into endless wars,” President Trump said earlier in the day his intent is to expel the Palestinians from Gaza “permanently,” thus fulfilling this long-time Zionist goal, and setting the stage for another prolonged illegal occupation and extended war in the Middle East.
READ: Expelling the Palestinian people has always been a goal of Zionism
Sharp resistance and commentary emerged immediately. Jewish journalist and Middle East expert Max Blumenthal posted to X that Trump’s remarks “offered a rare opportunity to hear an American president articulate the logic of Zionism in its rawest, most essential form. The history of Israel is defined by a continuous process of controlling and removing the Palestinian population by force.”
Trump’s pledge to “take over” Gaza offered a rare opportunity to hear an American president articulate the logic of Zionism in its rawest, most essential form. The history of Israel is defined by a continuous process of controlling and removing the Palestinian population by…
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) February 5, 2025
“Now, Trump has vowed to carry out the Final Solution on Israel’s behalf, and possibly with U.S. troops,” the journalist and author continued. “Israelis love his genocidal energy, with 80% telling the Jerusalem Post they favor Trump’s plan, and only 13% declaring it ‘immoral.’”
Also mincing no words regarding the president’s announcement was another Jewish journalist, Glenn Greenwald, who wrote, “Gaza is now rubble because of the sociopath sitting next to Trump grinning, knowing he owns the U.S. Palestinians will never voluntarily leave. So is Trump proposing yet another U.S. war for Israel, this time to ethnically cleanse Gaza and give Jared Kushner real estate holdings?”
Arab nations, Russia, China, reject Trump’s plan as Saudi Arabia’s demand for two-state solution remains ‘non-negotiable’
Internationally, the plan was openly rejected by nations around the world including Jordan and Egypt even after Trump insisted as late as last week that they would indeed absorb over two million Gazan refugees, a demand both nations fiercely reject.
Without responding directly to Trump’s announcement, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Wednesday called for swift reconstruction of Gaza without further displacement of the besieged people and for the Palestinian Authority to replace Hamas in governing the Strip.
With the Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa in Cairo, the two officials affirmed in a statement, “the importance of moving forward with early recovery projects and programs, removing rubble and providing humanitarian aid at an accelerated pace, without moving the Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip.”
Abdelatty emphasized “Egypt’s support for the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” stressing the need for a permanent solution to the conflict through international law and the two-state solution.
Likewise, the Royal Hashemite Court of Jordan released statements affirming the nation’s “full support for the Palestinians in gaining their legitimate rights,” adding “His Majesty King Abdullah II stresses the need to put a stop to settlement expansion, expressing rejection of any attempts to annex land and displace the Palestinians.”
Additionally, with Turkey’s foreign minister affirming the proposal was “unacceptable,” another major regional power with strong ties to the United States, Saudi Arabia, maintained their “firm and unwavering” stance that they would not establish relations with Israel absent a Palestinian State.
Despite Netanyahu saying during the press briefing that he thought normalization with the gulf kingdom was “going to happen,” a statement by Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry was released immediately Tuesday maintaining, “Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that.”
The ministry also demanded “an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and reaffirmed its “unequivocal rejection” of attempts to displace Palestinians from their land, adding that its position on this issue is “non-negotiable and not subject to compromises.”
#Statement | The Foreign Ministry affirms that Saudi Arabia’s position on the establishment of a Palestinian state is firm and unwavering. HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister clearly and unequivocally reaffirmed this stance. pic.twitter.com/0uuoq8h12I
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) February 5, 2025
A senior Iranian official was quoted in the Jerusalem Post affirming his government “does not agree with any displacement of Palestinians and has communicated this through various channels.”
The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry also responded to Trump’s plan, saying in a Wednesday statement that the nation “affirmed its categorical rejection of infringement on the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and attempts to displace them and called for the need to stop settlement activities that threaten regional stability and undermine opportunities for peace and coexistence.” They also affirmed that “regional stability can only be attained through the two-state solution.”
Hamas, the U.S.-delegated terrorist organization which broke out of Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023 to attack it’s occupiers, condemned Trump’s proposal and called upon the president to retract his “irresponsible statements.”
“We call on the U.S. administration and Trump to retract the irresponsible statements that ontradict international laws and the natural rights of our people,” Hamas said.
“We call on the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations to convene urgently to follow up on these dangerous statements. We condemn in the strongest terms and reject Trump’s statements aimed at the United States occupying the Gaza Strip and displacing our Palestinian people from it. We affirm that we, our Palestinian people and its living forces will not allow any country in the world to occupy our land or impose guardianship over our Palestinian people,” the group added.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior official for Hamas, added, that “what is required is to end the (Israeli) occupation and aggression against our people, not to expel them from their land.”
READ: Col Macgregor: Gaza plan reveals Trump ‘not a free actor’ but ‘simply a puppet’ of Netanyahu
At the same time, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued an acute rejection of Trump’s statements on Wednesday: “We will not allow the rights of our people to be infringed upon, for which we have fought for many decades and made great sacrifices to achieve them,” Abbas said. “These calls represent a serious violation of international law, and peace and stability will not be achieved in the region, without the establishment of the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, on the borders of June 4, 1967, on the basis of the two-state solution.”
Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated their nation’s support for the two-state solution which is “enshrined” in international law the commitment to which “is shared by the overwhelming majority of countries involved in this problem,” adding they hold “this is the only possible option” for peace.
The Chinese foreign ministry agreed expressing hopes that the ceasefire will be successful, and the Palestinian issue could be focused on to bring about the two-state solution as well.
European and Western allies reject Trump’s plan
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, “The expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza is unacceptable and violates international law.”
France’s foreign ministry agreed saying “any forced displacement of the Palestinian population of Gaza” would also be “an attack on the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians” and “a major destabilizing factor” for “the entire region.”
In his first major public break with the Trump administration, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed disapproval saying Gazans “must be allowed home. They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution.”
He was echoed by his foreign minister David Lammy who affirmed, “We must see Palestinians able to live and prosper in their homelands, in Gaza, in the West Bank.”
Spain and Ireland, who each recognized the State of Palestine last year, expressed opposition to Trump’s unexpected announcement. “I want to make something very clear: Gaza is the land of Palestinian Gazans and they must remain in Gaza,” said Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. “Gaza is part of the future Palestinian state.”
Australia, Italy and the Netherlands also reaffirmed their commitment to the two-state solution with the latter’s foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp stating, “For the Netherlands, there is no doubt: Gaza belongs to the Palestinians. Our position is and remains unchanged: the Netherlands supports a two-state solution.”
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated on Wednesday, “At its essence, the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people is about the right of Palestinians to simply live as human beings in their own land.”
“It is vital to stay true to the bedrock of international law,” he said. “It is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing.”
U.S. Democrats excoriate plan, GOP pols cautious, temper Trump’s statements
Back at home many most Democrats echoed these sentiments while most Republicans sought to mitigate the statements of President Trump in some way.
“This is an insane proposal, and there’s been a huge backlash already, because the president of the United States was saying that he would use U.S. military force, if necessary, to forcibly remove 2 million Palestinians from Gaza — that’s ethnic cleansing by another name — so that it could be redeveloped,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, (D-MD) to CNN on Wednesday morning, adding it could be “dangerous” for both the U.S. and the Middle East.
Sen. Tina Smith, (D-MN), said that Trump was “completely ignoring the sovereignty and the self-determination of the Palestinian people who have lived in this place for generations and he’s got his eye on some real estate deal because he thinks the coastline of Gaza is going to be great for some new hotel.” She also told CNN the plan was “ridiculous” and “horrifying.”
Sen. Ruben Gallego, (D-AZ)., called the plan “absolutely dumb, stupid and illegal” while Sen. Elizabeth Warren, (D-MA), described it as “dangerous” and “inconsistent with American values.”
Even strong supporters of President Trump across the aisle appeared baffled. Rep. Warren Davidson, (R-Ohio) simply offered one question: “America First?”
As if to respond, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) affirmed this policy was no such thing in a post on ‘X’ Wednesday morning: “The pursuit for peace should be that of the Israelis and the Palestinians. I thought we voted for America First. We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers blood.”
Even Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who is known for being one of the most zealous advocates for war in Washington, appeared a bit staggered by the proposal cautiously commenting, “I think that would be an interesting proposal. We’ll see what our Arab friends say about that. I think most South Carolinians would not be excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza.”
“I think that might be problematic. But I’ll keep an open mind,” he continued. “That would be a tough place to be stationed as an American, would be Gaza.”
And, another Trump ally, Sen. Josh Hawley, (R-MO) appeared baffled and caught off guard as well: “I don’t know that I think it’s the best use of United States resources to spend a bunch of money in Gaza. I think maybe I prefer that to be spent in the United States first, but let’s see what happens.”
Of interest, former Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), the second Palestinian American elected to Congress, posted Tuesday evening, “If the United States deploys troops to forcibly remove Muslims and Christians—like my cousins—from Gaza, then not only will the U.S. be mired in another reckless occupation but it will also be guilty of the crime of ethnic cleansing. No American of good conscience should stand for this.”
Holy Land bishop: Trump’s statement a ‘shock,’ Palestinian rights ‘should not even be questioned’
In December, advocacy groups Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International released extensive reports concluding Israeli authorities were deliberately seeking to bring about the destruction of the people of Gaza by various means, including the deprivation of necessities like water, food, energy and medical care, amounting to crimes of genocide.
READ: Genocide ‘only reasonable conclusion’ to Israel’s crimes in Gaza: Amnesty International
“Widespread destruction in Gaza is no accident” said HRW on Wednesday, “much of it reflects a calculated Israeli policy to make Gaza unlivable.” Should Trump’s plan be implemented, it would “amount to an alarming escalation of forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza. It would move the US from being complicit in war crimes to direct perpetration of atrocities.”
Amnesty concurred asserting, “Any plan to forcibly deport Palestinians outside the occupied territory against their will is a war crime, and when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack on the civilian population, it would constitute a crime against humanity.” Such a proposal must be “unequivocally and widely condemned.”
Auxiliary Bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Monsignor William Shomali, echoed this reasoning in an exclusive statement to LifeSiteNews.
READ: EXCLUSIVE: Auxiliary Bishop of Jerusalem condemns Trump’s Gaza remarks
“The idea of displacing a people against their will and forcing another state to absorb them is unacceptable. The right and freedom of a people to live on their own land and not be forcibly displaced should not even be questioned,” he affirmed.
“Trump’s announcement came as a shock to us because it made clear his intentions regarding the future of Gaza. He did not mention the UN resolutions and the Two Peoples: Two State solution,” he said reiterating the Church’s support for the implementation of international law in this conflict, ending Israel’s illegal occupation of internationally recognized Palestinian lands.
“Trump cannot replace the United Nations and become the supreme decision-maker,” the bishop said. “I hope and pray that the ceasefire will continue and that there will be a solution to this conflict.”
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Help bring aid trucks into Gaza: LifeFunder