During a business roundtable in Qatar on Thursday, May 16, President Donald Trump once again suggested a U.S. takeover of Gaza as a way of attempting to redevelop the Palestinian territory.
“I think I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone. Let some good things happen, put people in homes where they can be safe, and Hamas is going to have to be dealt with,” said Trump, during the roundtable with Qatari officials, in the presence of reporters.
He continued: “I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good. Make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved.”
Per CNN, the U.S. President went on to add: “They’ve never solved the Gaza problem and if you look at it, I have aerial shots, I mean there’s practically no building standing, there’s no building. People are living under the rubble of buildings that collapsed, which is not acceptable, it’s tremendous death. And I want to see that be a freedom zone.”
Trump’s comments come amid reports of multiple airstrikes hitting the Gazan city of Khan Younis overnight into Thursday.
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This is not the first time that the President has put forward ideas about the future of Gaza, which is currently governed by Hamas.
In January, while talking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he wanted Jordan and Egypt to take in Palestinians, suggesting a “clean out” of the Gaza Strip.
“You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” Trump said. “I don’t know. Something has to happen, but it’s literally a demolition site right now.” The idea prompted a strong rebuke from Arab nations.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House in February, Trump once again shared his vision for the war-torn location. “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip. We’ll do a job with it. We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous bombs and other weapons,” he said.
“We will level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
When asked what authority would allow the U.S. to carry out this idea, and whether he was talking about a “permanent occupation” there, Trump replied: “I do see a long-term ownership position and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East.”
Trump went on to say that it was “not a decision made lightly,” and claimed “everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land.”
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Standing next to Trump, Netanyahu said that one of Israel’s main goals was to “make sure Gaza never poses a threat to Israel again,” adding that Trump’s offer would be taking this goal “to a much higher level.”
“I think it’s worth paying attention to this,” Netanyahu concluded.
Later in February, President Trump shared an AI video on his social media platform TruthSocial depicting “Trump Gaza.” The video included AI-generated images of a golden statue of the U.S. President in Gaza, luxury cars, and skyscrapers in a reconstructed Gaza Strip. The clip drew heavy criticism from Palestinians in Gaza.
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