U.S. President Donald Trump announced a proposal on February 4 under which displaced Palestinians would leave the Gaza Strip, allowing the United States to take ownership of the coastal territory and develop it economically into a “phenomenal” place where many nationalities could live in peace.
Trump said this would occur after the resettlement of the Palestinian people to other countries to get them out of what he said was a “hell hole” of demolished buildings following more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. Trump made the surprise proposal at a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying such a drastic move is necessary because other ideas to end decades of conflict between the Palestinian people and Israelis have not worked. His proposal on the Gaza Strip would see the United States taking it over and would appear to upend years of U.
S. policy calling for a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump said the United States would work to dismantle all unexploded bombs and other weapons in the territory and clear away destroyed buildings before economically developing the area.
"If it's necessary, we'll do that, we're going to take over that piece, we're going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it'll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of," Trump added. The .
