PRESIDENT Trump has announced his shocking plan to take over war-ravaged Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The highly controversial scheme to “Make Gaza Great Again” could see the US troops seizing the enclave and two million Palestinians moved to Egypt and Jordan.
Experts say it would take at least a decade to reconstruct Gaza
GettyGaza has been reduced to rubble after 16 months of bloodshed[/caption]
Trum with Israeli leader NetanyahuGetty
JL ImagesTrump described his plan to turn Gaza into the “Riviera” of the Middle East[/caption]
Experts believe the scheme that shocked the world could take years to complete and would cost billions and billions of dollars.
The US President described Gaza as a “demolition site” and vowed he would turn it into “something the entire Middle East can be very proud of”.
But his unprecedented proposition has sparked condemnation as the plan would see residents forced out the enclave.
Some of have gone as far as claim Trump’s plan to redevelop Gaza would amount to “ethnic cleansing”.
The scheme has also raised questions over how it could be possible – mainly under what authority would US take control of Gaza.
Despite backlash across the globe, some experts suggested it is a solution that would in fact be welcomed from Palestinians.
It is estimated such a plan could take more than 20 years – and would involve the US clearing millions of tons of rubble.
Gaza has been left decimated after an Israeli campaign aimed at wiping out the terrorist group Hamas.
Colonel Richard Kemp told The Sun: “It’s a logical plan and to my mind plan it’s better than anyplan anyone else has come up with,” adding it will take at least a decade to reconstruct Gaza.
He said: “I know it shocked a lot of people- Middle Eastern leaders and European leaders – because of its boldness.
“But in many ways as a plan it makes a great deal of sense because Gaza has been virtually completely destroyed as a result of Hamas’s war on Israel.”
Trump described envisioning a Riviera of the Middle East – and described levelling the war ravaged towns, removing the bombs, and redeveloping the buildings and providing jobs for Gaza’s people.
He describe relocating nearly two million people – and said while Palestinians would be able to return it would “the world’s people” who live Gaza.
His announcement torpedoed decades of US policy on Gaza – and completely flipped the script on his administration’s handling of the ongoing crisis.
Arab states rejected his plans – and questions have been raised of their legality in international courts.
Kemp told The Sun: “To turn it into a place people can live again it’s going to take probably at least a decade.
“It will probably cost many many billions – but there’s many billions in the Middle East so they could contribute to the project.”
The jaw-dropping plan was unveiled by Trump during a joint press conference with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu- the first foreign leader to visit the White House since Don assumed office.
Trump said during his speech: “The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too…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.”
When asked about US troops entering Gaza, he responded: “As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that.”
Israeli PM Netanyahu praised the Republican saying he was “thinking outside the box with fresh ideas” and was “showing willingness to puncture conventional thinking.”
ISRAEL’S RESPONSE
Former Israeli intelligence official Avi Melamed argued that Palestinians would be more than happy to get rid of Hamas’s evil regime.
Melamed said Trump’s words sent “an enormous shockwave” across the region.
He said: “It reshuffled the cards. As you expect and understand, there has been robust responses from across the region.
“I would guess that Trump did not out of the blue came up with that statement.
“There has been, there will be, discussion with major Arab players involved, who are relevant.”
Former Mossad agent Avner Avraham admitted that Israel was surprised to hear Trump’s remarks but “was looking forward to see it” and described as the first step to bring peace in the Middle East.
Avner, described the plan as a “creative” idea and said he believes Palestinians would actually welcome it as it would lead to a “normal Palestinian authority”
He told The Sun: “It was a big surprise for many people in Israel.
RexTrump announced his proposition during a joint press conference with Netanyahu[/caption]
AFPTrump’s proposition would see nearly two million Palestinians relocated[/caption]
EPAThere has been 50 million tonnes of rubble[/caption]
“I know for sure that Trump is not looking for war, he’s trying to close all the wars between Ukraine and Russia, between Israel and all the countries surrounding Israel.
“He doesn’t want to see Hamas in Gaza anymore.
“Even the Palestinian authority don’t want them because they took over Gaza, and they killed many of the Palestinian authority people.
“I feel that most of the people in Gaza became hostages under the Hamas.”
Asked how the plan would come to life, he explained the first step would be to relocate Palestinians – possibly to the north of Egypt, towards Sinai.
The following step would see the clearing of rubble and gradual reconstruction of Gaza.
A UN damage assessement released last month showed that clearing over 50 million tonnes of rubble left in Gaza in the aftermath of Israel‘s bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2 billion.
He said: “So the idea is, I believe, to send the people in Gaza to different places, and in the meantime to clean Gaza, including the tunnels, and including all the weapons there, and just to build a new Gaza, to build airport, to build the harbor and I think it will be better for everybody.
“I believe that that the normal people in Gaza don’t want to live in this condition.
“So it’s a creative idea. It’s a new idea. And most of the people in Israel really liked this idea.”
Avner said he believes the US would set up an army camp in the area adding: “I think they’re planning to stay there.”
Meanwhile, Melamed told The Sun: “Nobody asked the Palestinians in Gaza what they’re saying. They want out.
“They welcome Trump’s suggestion, because the only people that has desire to leave the Palestinians in Gaza, in the dire situation are the people that all the time are speaking on their behalf.
“At the end of the day the Palestinians in Gaza are suffering. They are paying the price for their leadership and for their lack of bad choices they made but now, as effect on the ground hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza have nothing to go back to.
“They have no houses, they have no services, they have no infrastructure because of the war that their leadership initiated Hamas in October 7, and they want future.”
RELOCATION OF PALESTINIANS
Trump repeated his suggestion from last month that Palestinians could relocate to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan – something that both countries have rejected.
He continued: “I hope we could do something where they wouldn’t want to go back. Who would want to go back?
“They’ve experienced nothing but death and destruction.
“Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs.”
The US President added it would be the “Riviera of the Middle East” and spoke about a “beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza”.
It is not the first time the idea of US taking over Gaza is discussed – and Trump’s provoking plan is said to be stemming from Jared Kushner‘s remarks about Gaza.
Last year Trump’s son in law sparked outrage after he said “Gaza’s waterfront property could be very valuable,” while speaking about the Israel- Hamas war.
Kushner, speaking at Harvard University, also said Israel should clear out any remaining Palestinian civilians sheltering there and “finish the job”.
“It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but from Israel’s perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up,” he said.
HAMAS RESPONSE
In response to Trump’s remarks about Gaza, Hamas dismissed them as “absurd” and issued a stern warning it could spark more tension in the Middle East.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri branded Trump’s comments “ridiculous” and “absurd” adding that “any ideas of this kind are capable of igniting the region.”
Trump’s remarks sparked fury among Arab countries with Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia immediately rejecting the plan.
A statement from Saudi Arabia‘s Foreign Ministry reads: “Saudi Arabia rejects any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land.
“Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has affirmed the kingdom’s position in ‘a clear and explicit manner’ that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances.”
Egypt‘s Foreign Ministry said: “Abdelatty discussed with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa the importance of moving forward with recovery projects in Gaza without Palestinians leaving the Gaza Strip.”
While Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described Trump’s comments as “unacceptable” adding any plans leaving Palestinians “out of the equation” would lead to more conflict.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said Palestinians “must be allowed home” and to rebuild their community “on the way to a two-state solution.”
Regarding the immediate global reaction Richard Kemp added: “There is the idea that an expulsion of the people from Gaza would contradict international law.
“This is a unique situation, it’s not really a situation that’s occurred before.”
PALESTINIAN RELOCATION
The relocation of Palestinians is a highly sensitive subject among the Arab world.
Palestinians fear a repetition of the 1948 events that saw some 700,000 fleeing their homes during the Arab-Israeli war.
As Palestinians were not allowed to return because it would have ended in a Palestinian majority, they became a nearly permanent refugee community of roughly six million.
The majority of them live in urban refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel’s rejection of what Palestinians say is their right of return to their 1948 homes has been a core grievance in the conflict.
Even if Palestinians are not expelled from Gaza en masse, many fear that they will never be able to return to their homes or that the destruction wreaked on the territory will make it impossible to live there.
ReutersExperts say it would take over ten years to reconstruct Gaza[/caption]
GettyHamas described Trump’s preposition as “absurd”[/caption]
GettyTrump’s plan would see 2 million Palestinians relocating to neighbouring countries[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
