President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. will “take over” the Gaza Strip, ‘level the site” and rebuild it, after earlier saying Palestinians living there should leave.

“They instead can occupy all of a beautiful area with homes and safety, and they can live out their lives in peace and harmony” in other areas or countries, he said at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The U.S. 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,” he said.

“Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” he added. Do a real job. Do something different.”

President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4, 2025.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

“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,” he said. “This can be paid for by neighboring 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,” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as he holds a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Feb. 4, 2025.

Leah Millis/Reuters

“But the people will be able to live in comfort and peace and will get sure — 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 civilization of — of wonderful people has had to endure. The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative.” he said.

“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. And everybody I have spoken to, this was not a decision made lightly,” he continued. “Everybody I have spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent in a really magnificent area that nobody would know.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.



Source link

Leave a Reply