Trump's 'Gaza takeover' plan sparks global outrage

US President Donald Trump's controversial suggestion to take over Gaza after relocating its entire population has been swiftly rejected by Washington's allies and adversaries alike; and sparked global condemnation.

At a joint press conference with prime minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump said Washington would take over control of the Gaza Strip-- possibly with the help of American troops-- to create a "Riviera of the Middle East." He earlier suggested that displaced Palestinians could be resettled elsewhere.

Countries from Russia, China, Germany, Spain, Ireland and the UK said they continued to support the two-state solution that has formed the basis of Washington's policy in the region for decades, which has held that Gaza would be part of a future Palestinian state that includes the occupied West Bank.

Welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Tuesday, Trump said he would support an effort to permanently resettle Palestinians from Gaza to places where they can live without fear of violence, and he and his team had been discussing this possibility with Jordan, Egypt and other regional countries.

Absurd & Ridiculous

An official from Hamas, which ruled the Gaza Strip before fighting Israel in a brutal war there, said Trump's statement about taking over the enclave was "ridiculous and absurd".

"Any ideas of this kind are capable of igniting the region," Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters, saying Hamas remains committed to the ceasefire accord with Israel and "ensuring the success of the negotiation in the second phase".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, "There are Israeli plans to take full control of the occupied West Bank and attempts to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip," adding that, "practicing a policy of collective punishment is a method that Russia rejects," Al Jazeera reported.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed opposition to the forced transfer of the people of Gaza and expressed hope that all parties will take ceasefire and post-conflict governance as an opportunity to bring the Palestinian issue back to a political settlement on the basis of the two-state solution.Some of the toughest criticism came from France, which said the forced displacement of Gazans would be a serious violation of international law, an attack on the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians and destabilise the region.

Permanent displacement

Russia believes a settlement in the Middle East is only possible on the basis of a two-state solution, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, while Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said "Gaza is the land of Gazan Palestinians and they must stay in Gaza".

Trump's proposal raises questions whether Middle East power Saudi Arabia would be willing to join a renewed U.S.-brokered push for a historic normalisation of relations with U.S. ally Israel.

Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, said it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state, contradicting Trump's claim that Riyadh was not demanding a Palestinian homeland.

Trump would like Saudi Arabia to follow in the footsteps of the United Arab Emirates, a Middle East trade and business hub, and Bahrain which signed the so-called Abraham Accords in 2020 and normalised ties with Israel.

In doing so, they became the first Arab states in a quarter century to break a longstanding taboo.

Michael Milshtein, a former intelligence officer and one of Israel's leading specialists on Hamas, said Trump's comments put Israel on a collision course with its Arab neighbours.

"Maybe Trump is trying to promote pressure on the Arab states (so) that they will not create any obstacles if he will try to promote a normalisation between Saudi Arabia and Israel," he said.

Netanyahu would not be drawn into discussing the proposal, other than to praise Trump for trying a new approach.

Palestinians fear another 'Nakba'

Displacement is a highly sensitive issue among both Palestinians and Arab countries.

As fighting raged in the Gaza war, Palestinians feared they would suffer from another "Nakba", or catastrophe, referring to the time when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed of their homes in the 1948 war at the birth of the state of Israel.

"Trump can go to hell, with his ideas, with his money, and with his beliefs. We are going nowhere. We are not some of his assets," Samir Abu Basil, 40, a father of five from Gaza City, told Reuters via a chat app.

"The easier for him if he wants to resolve this conflict is to take the Israelis and put them in one of the states there.

They are strangers and not the Palestinians. We are the owner of the land.