Trump says US will “take over” Gaza: United States of America President Donald Trump said that the US “will take over” Gaza and that he won’t rule out sending US troops to secure American ownership. His comments break with decades of US foreign policy, which has long emphasized a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, as well as his past skepticism over US intervention in the Middle East.
• Trump sees Gaza as business opportunity: Unveiling what he called his “long-term ownership” and redevelopment plan, the real estate investor turned president said Gaza could become the “Riviera of the Middle East.” The president also said he plans to visit Gaza soon.
• Regional pushback: Arab nations have rejected any suggestions to displace Palestinians from Gaza, which opponents argue would amount to ethnic cleansing. Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its “unwavering” support for a Palestinian state, and reiterated it will not commit to normalization of relations with Israel without such guarantees.
How European leaders are responding to Trump’s Gaza plan
Outside the Middle East, world leaders are scrambling to respond to US President Donald Trump’s proposed plan that the US should take over Gaza.
Here’s how some have responded:
• France: The country “reiterates its opposition to any forced displacement” of Palestinians, a spokesperson for the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said. The spokesperson warned that any forced displacement would constitute a “serious violation of international law, an attack on the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians” and prove a “major obstacle to the two-state solution.”
• Germany: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock rejected the US plan, saying that Gaza “just like the West Bank and East Jerusalem — belongs to the Palestinians.” Baerbock said Wednesday the “expulsion of the Palestinian civilian population from Gaza would not only be unacceptable and contrary to international law, it would also lead to new suffering and new hatred.”
• Spain: “I want to be very clear on this: Gaza is the land of Gazan Palestinians and they must stay in Gaza,” Reuters quoted Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno as saying Wednesday morning.
• UK: Foreign Minister David Lammy said that “Donald Trump is right” that Gaza has been destroyed and is “lying in rubble,” Reuters reported. But, he added the UK has “always been clear in our belief that we must seek two states. Separately, the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he believed the ceasefire needed to be sustained and Palestinians “must be allowed home. They must be allowed to rebuild and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two state solution,” speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
CNN
