President Donald Trump on Thursday ruled out using American troops to carry out his stunning bid for the U.S. to “take over” Gaza, dialing back a key part of his proposal that had been met with widespread backlash.
His shift in position comes after he said Tuesday night, when he first revealed his plan, that he’d use the military “if it’s necessary.”
The day after, on Wednesday, when questioned by reporters exactly what that meant, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also didn’t rule out the possibility but stressed that the president hadn’t “committed” to using American soldiers there.
Then, on Thursday morning, amid continuing questions and criticism, Trump put out a new statement flatly stating the U.S. military wouldn’t be involved and adding, without explanation, that the “Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting.”
“The U.S., working with great development teams from all over the World, would slowly and carefully begin the construction of what would become one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth. No soldiers by the U.S. would be needed!” Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers, also said on Thursday that he didn’t believe American troops would be needed in Gaza in order to make Trump’s proposal workable.
Still, many questions remain about Trump’s vision for a U.S. takeover of Gaza.
Palestinian displacement permanent or temporary?
As he sat with Netanyahu in the Oval Office earlier on Tuesday, Trump suggested the permanent resettlement of the close to 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza — many of whom say they don’t want to leave.
Then, when he outlined his plan for a U.S. takeover, Trump said Gaza “should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have really stood there and fought for it and lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there.”
“Instead, we should go to other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts, and there are many of them that want to do this, and build various domains that will ultimately be occupied by the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza, ending the death and destruction and frankly, bad luck,” he said.
Later, he added, “The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative.”
Trump said his vision was for the Gaza Strip to be economically developed and that after the “world’s people” would live there.
Experts quickly noted that seizing a territory by force would violate international law, and displacing its people would constitute a war crime. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned against “any form of ethnic cleansing” after Trump’s comments.
Various administration officials, the following day, sought to soften the proposal.
Press secretary Leavitt told reporters at her briefing on Wednesday that Palestinians would be only “temporarily relocated” while the rebuild took place, although officials say it could take upward of 15 years for it to be completed.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Trump’s takeover proposal as a “generous” offer to clear debris and deal with unexploded munitions while Palestinians in the “interim” live somewhere else.
“It was not meant as a hostile move,” Rubio said.
Still, Trump on Thursday said the “Palestinians … would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region. They would have a chance to be happy, safe and free.”
Who will pay?
Leavitt said on Wednesday no U.S. tax dollars would be spent for the reconstruction effort. She did not elaborate on how the U.S. would have “long-term ownership” of Gaza as Trump proposed without spending money.
When Trump said on Tuesday that “various domains” should be built in other areas for Palestinians, he said it could be “paid for by neighboring countries of great wealth.”
Gaza’s immediate neighbors, Egypt and Jordan, have opposed accepting more Palestinian refugees and both nations are dealing with their own struggling economies. Saudi Arabia, a pivotal U.S. ally in the region and a wealthier nation, reiterated their support for a two-state solution after Trump’s takeover proposal.
The White House has insisted Trump is trying to make a deal in the region with his brazen pitch.
“It’s been very made very clear to the president, that the United States needs to be involved in this rebuilding effort, to ensure stability in the region for all people. But that does not mean boots on the ground in Gaza. It does not mean American taxpayers will be funding this effort,” Leavitt said on Wednesday. “It means Donald Trump, who is the best dealmaker on the planet, is going to strike a deal with our partners in a region.”
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