‘Insane’: Rights advocates denounce Trump’s call for US to ‘own’ Gaza
Washington, DC – Donald Trump’s call for the United States to “take over” and “own” Gaza after its Palestinian population is entirely displaced has stunned rights advocates and politicians, prompting condemnations and forceful rejections of the proposal.
While Trump had been calling for forcibly depopulating Gaza he took his proposal to a new level during a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, saying the US would acquire the Palestinian territory.
Critics argue that Trump is not only advocating ethnic cleansing in Gaza but also proposing the acquisition of land by force in violation of the United Nations charter.
In 1994, UN experts defined ethnic cleansing as “a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas”.
Trump said that depopulating Gaza is necessary because it has been turned into a “demolition site” after more than 15 months of US-backed Israeli bombardment.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” Trump said.
Netanyahu smiled as he heard Trump’s comments during their joint media conference.
In recent months, Trump has also suggested that the US should take over the Panama Canal, Greenland and Canada.
But his remarks on Gaza amid the immense suffering in the territory were especially jarring. It was met with rebuke from many rights campaigners.
Here’s some of what Trump’s critics had to say:
‘Terrifying’
Abed Ayoub, executive director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), said Trump’s proposal is “terrifying”.
Ayoub said the US president’s comments are “insane”, but they should not be taken lightly, stressing that it was Israel’s plan all along to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
“It would go against all norms and international law. This isn’t something that would be permitted to happen,” Ayoub told Al Jazeera.
“But at this point, you’ve got to ask yourself, if you look at the past year and a half: How much does the international community, including Israel, really care about international law and norms?”
He warned that displacing Palestinians would ignite a major backlash in Arab countries and throw the entire region into further turmoil.
‘Threat to world peace’
Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at the US-based rights group DAWN, slammed Trump’s remarks on depopulating Gaza and the US taking over the enclave.
“President Trump’s delusional comments about owning Gaza highlights the need for the international community to hold both Israeli and US leaders accountable,” Jarrar told Al Jazeera.
“Doubling down on being Israel’s partner in genocide and ethnic cleansing is not just a threat to Palestine, it is a threat to world peace and international order.”
‘Endorsement of ethnic cleansing’
Tariq Habash, who resigned from the Joe Biden administration over its unconditional support for Israel, said Trump’s plan is an “endorsement of ethnic cleansing” and a “blatant violation of international law”.
“The US has no right to ‘own’ Gaza or dictate a future for the Palestinian people. This is not diplomacy and is not in America’s interest,” Habash, who recently co-founded the think tank A New Policy, told Al Jazeera.
‘Call for commission of crime against humanity’
Nancy Okail, president of the Center for International Policy, said that Trump’s proposal echoes ideas from the “darkest chapters of history”.
“President Trump’s comments proposing that the Gaza Strip’s population be permanently relocated and that the United States ‘take over’ the territory is nothing less than an open call for the commission of a crime against humanity,” Okail said in a statement.
“It is unconscionable that a United States President would promote the forcible displacement of a population and acquisition of territory in the 21st century.”
‘Palestinians aren’t going anywhere’
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, called on her colleagues who say they support the two-state solution to speak up against Trump.
“Palestinians aren’t going anywhere,” Tlaib wrote in a social media post.
“This president can only spew this fanatical bull***t because of bipartisan support in Congress for funding genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
‘Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people’
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) rejected Trump’s comments, saying that if the US president truly wants peace in the region he must work to end the oppression of Palestinians.
“Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people, not the United States, and President Trump’s call to displace Palestinians from their land either temporarily or permanently is an absolute non-starter,” CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
“If the Palestinian people were ever somehow forcibly expelled from Gaza, this crime against humanity would complete the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians on their own land, spark widespread conflict, put the final nail in the coffin of international law, and permanently scar our nation’s international image.”
Bismillah. Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people, not the United States, and President Trump’s call to expel Palestinians from their land is an absolute non-starter. Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the entire Muslim world have made it clear that this delusional idea is…
— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) February 5, 2025
‘Palestinians cannot be erased’
The Arab American Institute said Trump hosted a “war criminal” at the White House for a “casual discussion” of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
“This declaration will give ammunition to Iran and other adversaries while undermining our Arab partners in the region. It defies decades of bipartisan American support for a two-state solution – the only viable means to guaranteeing peace, stability, and security for both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples,” the group said in a series of social media posts.
“Palestinians cannot be erased.”
Source: Ali Harb
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What Donald Trump said about his plans to ‘take over’ Gaza
President Donald Trump has said the United States will “take over” and “own” Gaza after an ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the besieged enclave under an extraordinary plan that he claimed could turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East”.
Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza, swiftly condemned the proposal as a “recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region”.
Trump’s statement on his Gaza plans came while he was addressing a news conference at the White House with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Here’s what he told reporters:
“Today I’m delighted to welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back to the White House. It’s a wonderful feeling and a wonderful event. We had fantastic talks, and thank you very much, with your staff.
“I want to say it’s an honour to have you with us. Over the past four years, the US and the Israeli alliance has been tested more than any time in history, but the bonds of friendship and affection between the American and Israeli people have endured for generations and they are absolutely unbreakable.
“I’m confident that, under our leadership, the cherished alliance between our two countries will soon be stronger than ever. We had a great relationship. We had great victories together four years ago, not so many victories over the past four years, however. In my first term, prime minister and I forged a tremendously successful partnership that brought peace and stability to the Middle East like it hadn’t seen in decades.
“Together, we defeated ISIS [ISIL], we ended the disastrous Iran nuclear deal, one of the worst deals ever made, and imposed the toughest ever sanctions on the Iranian regime. We starved Hamas and Iran’s other terrorist proxies, and we starved them like they had never seen before, resources and support disappeared for them.
“I recognised Israel’s capital, opened the American embassy in Jerusalem and got it built. We got it built. It’s beautiful, all Jerusalem stone right from nearby and it was – it’s something that’s very special.
“And recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, something that they talked about for 70 years and they weren’t able to get it. And I got it. And with the historic Abraham Accords, something that was really an achievement that was, I think, going to become more and more important because we achieved the most significant Middle East peace agreements in half a century.
“And I really believe that many countries will soon be joining this amazing peace and economic development transaction. It really is a big economic development transaction. I think we’re going to have a lot of people signing up very quickly. Unfortunately, for four years, nobody signed up. Nobody did anything for four years except in the negative.
“Unfortunately, the weakness and incompetence of those past four years, the grave damage around the globe that was done, including in the Middle East, grave damage all over the globe. The horrors of October 7th would never have happened if I were president, the Ukraine and Russia disaster would never have happened if I were president.
“Over the past 16 months, Israel has endured a sustained aggressive and murderous assault on every front, but they fought back bravely. You see that and you know that. What we have witnessed is an all-out attack on the very existence of a Jewish state in the Jewish homeland. The Israelis have stood strong and united in the face of an enemy that has kidnapped, tortured, raped and slaughtered innocent men, women, children and even little babies.
“I want to salute the Israeli people for meeting this trial with courage and determination and unflinching resolve. They have been strong. In our meetings today, the prime minister and I focused on the future, discussing how we can work together to ensure Hamas is eliminated and ultimately restore peace to a very troubled region.
“It’s been troubled, but what has happened in the last four years has not been good.
“I also strongly believe that the Gaza Strip, which has been a symbol of death and destruction for so many decades and so bad for the people anywhere near it, and especially those who live there and frankly who’s been really very unlucky. It’s been very unlucky. It’s been an unlucky place for a long time.
“Being in its presence just has not been good and it 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.
“This can be paid for by neighbouring countries of great wealth. It could be one, two, three, four, five, seven, eight, 12. It could be numerous sites, or it could be one large site. But the people will be able to live in comfort and peace and we’ll make sure something really spectacular is done.
“They’re going to have peace. They’re not going to be shot at and killed and destroyed like this civilisation of wonderful people has had to endure. The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative. It’s right now a demolition site. This is just a demolition site. Virtually every building is down.
“They’re living under fallen concrete that’s very dangerous and very precarious. They instead can occupy all of a beautiful area with homes and safety and they can live out their lives in peace and harmony instead of having to go back and do it again.
“The US 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 the people of the area … do a real job, do something different.
“Just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years. I’m hopeful that this ceasefire could be the beginning of a larger and more enduring peace that will end the bloodshed and killing once and for all. With the same goal in mind, my administration has been moving quickly to restore trust in the alliance and rebuild American strength throughout the region and we’ve really done that.
“I ended the last administration’s de facto arms embargo on over $1bn, in military assistance for Israel. And I’m also pleased to announce that this afternoon, the United States withdrew from the anti-Semitic UN Human Rights Council and ended all of the support for the UN Relief and Works Agency, which funnelled money to Hamas, and which was very disloyal to humanity.”
Source: Al Jazeera