At a press conference after his White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump said that the United States should take over Gaza and displace the Palestinians who live there.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip,” said the President. “We’ll own it … We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal … the Riviera of the Middle East.”
“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 continued.
Trump was immediately condemned by human rights groups and analysts.
“Make no mistake: forcibly removing Palestinians from Gaza is ethnic cleansing. It is obviously illegal, deeply morally wrong, and incredibly dangerous,” said the organization Win Without War in a statement. “Palestinians in Gaza have endured unimaginable violence over the last 16 months and still face near-famine conditions. Only a tenuous ceasefire is preventing a return to full-scale war and making sure the remainder of the hostages can get back to their loved ones. People in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, and beyond need a real end to the war, not permanent forced displacement.”
“Trump’s comments must not be dismissed as mere rhetoric,” said Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action). “They reflect a deeply entrenched policy of U.S. support for Israel’s crimes. If we do not act now, history will judge our silence as complicity in one of the gravest human rights violations of our time.”
“Anyone who believes that Palestinians will leave Gaza doesn’t understand the relationship that Indigenous people have with their native homeland,” tweeted U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR). “The love for our land runs deeper than colonizers could ever imagine. Our steadfast people refuse to be uprooted.”
“Is he talking in geopolitical terms, or does he simply see Gaza as a massive beachfront development project?” Khaled Elgindy, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, told the New York Times. “And for whose benefit? Certainly not Palestinians, who are to be ‘relocated’ en masse. Will the U.S. be the new occupier in Gaza, replacing the Israelis? What U.S. interest could this possibly serve?”
“They can try,” wrote journalist Sana Saeed. “Palestinians have shown that even with the entire world against them they will be victorious. They are returning to their homes and living on what rubble remains – you cannot defeat people like that & I do not mean this in an inspirational way. Just stating fact. Good luck.”
“Palestinians don’t want to go anywhere,” said Palestinian author Laila El-Haddad. “They want to live in freedom and dignity in their own homes, and for the source of their suffering-Israel-to be held accountable.”
The proposal was also criticized by many Democratic lawmakers.
On the House floor, Rep. Al Green (D-TX), said he would bring Articles of Impeachment against Trump over the issue.
“Palestinians aren’t going anywhere,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian member of Congress. “This president can only spew this fanatical bullshit because of bipartisan support in Congress for funding genocide and ethnic cleansing. It’s time for my two-state solution colleagues to speak up.”
“He’s totally lost it,” Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) tweeted. “A US invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of US troops and decades of war in the Middle East. It’s like a bad, sick joke.”
“Trump’s proposal to push two million Palestinians out of Gaza and take ‘ownership’ by force, if necessary, is simply ethnic cleansing by another name,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). “This declaration will give ammunition to Iran and other adversaries while undermining our Arab partners in the region.”
Even Republicans expressed reservations about the plan.
“I think that would be an interesting proposal,” Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told a reporter. “We’ll see what our Arab friends say about that. I think most South Carolinians would probably not be excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza. It might be problematic.”
“There’s probably a couple of kinks in that slinky,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).
“I did not have this on my bingo card. … I got so many questions,” an anonymous GOP Senator told Politico.
However, many pro-Israel conservatives publicly embraced the idea.
“Gaza MUST BE FREE from Hamas,” tweeted Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “As [Trump] shared today, the United States stands ready to lead and Make Gaza Beautiful Again. Our pursuit is one of lasting peace in the region for all people.”
“Trump’s “US will ‘take over’ Gaza, ‘own’ it, develop it, then make it an ‘international’ area” statement is an extraordinary declaration that could assure the end of the Islamic-Arab terrorist group Hamas, and secure southern Israel after decades of terrorist attacks and missile launches from Hamas in Gaza,” said Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton Klein. “It will also be a major step towards a real peace in the region.”
“Trump’s proposed USA takeover of the Gaza Strip may sound out of the box, but it is brilliant, historic and the only idea I have heard in 50 years that has a chance of bringing security, peace and prosperity to this troubled region,” tweeted Trump’s former Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.
At least one Democrat has also endorsed ethnic cleansing. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) said he would “fully support” U.S. troops occupying Gaza.
“It’s a provocative part of the conversation, but it’s part of the conversation, and that’s where we are,” said Fetterman. “The Palestinians have refused, or they’ve been unwilling to deliver a government that provided security and economic development for themselves. They allowed 10/7 to occur, and now Gaza has to be rebuilt. Where are the people going to live? Where are they going to go? So it’s part of a conversation with where they’re at right now.”
Report: Netanyahu Gave Trump Golden Pager as a ‘Gift’
Chris Menahan
InformationLiberation
Feb. 05, 2025
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday presented President Trump with both a gold-plated and regular pager as “gifts,” according to Israel’s Channel 12 news.
The “gift” was a reference to Israel rigging thousands of consumer electronic goods that were sold to Hezbollah in Lebanon with explosives and remotely detonating them in two separate rounds of largely indiscriminate terror attacks that killed dozens and wounded thousands.
Zionists have celebrated the attack as an act of Jewish “genius.”
“The prime minister’s visit to the White House, which took place Tuesday night, lasted five hours, beginning with President Trump personally greeting Netanyahu at the White House entrance,” Israel Hayom reported on Wednesday. “The two leaders proceeded to the Roosevelt Room, where the prime minister signed the guest book in the presence of both delegations. Netanyahu presented President Trump with both a gold-plated and standard pager as gifts, to which Trump responded, ‘That was a tremendous operation.'”
I find it hard to believe Trump would take such a “gift” as anything but a threat.”
https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64836
Rep. Al Green said Wednesday he was introducing impeachment articles against Donald Trump after the president said the U.S. would “take over” Gaza.
Well I’d rather see a state AG frog march Musk off to get booked and arraigned for a criminal indictment (18 U.S. Code § 599 – Promise of appointment by candidate) than watch paint dry during Congressional speeches or a years-long civil suit.
Trump officials try to walk back president’s comments on Gaza ‘takeover’ – live Guardian
18 U.S. Code § 599 – Promise of appointment by candidate
I just watched a report with a lawyer who thinks this is an extra-legal event. But it’s just a well-defined crime that’s been on the books since the 1940s.
It’s a felony to even accidentally offer to make a $250 million contribution to a Presidential candidate, and then offer support for the appointment of that same contributor (Musk) to any public or private position or employment (e.g. DOGE), to procure support in the Trump candidacy. There is no presumptive immunity for crimes when both parties are acting beyond their legal power or authority.
The law stipulates that these persons “shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/599
There is a newly appointed interim US attorney for the District of Columbia who said he would take legal action against anyone who impedes or threatens Elon Musk’s government-efficiency staff.
That is a text book example of 18 U.S. Code § 242 – Deprivation of rights under color of law and also the federal and state RICO statutes.
The Democrat State AGs are missing in action. It is something of a mystery why they haven’t filed a criminal complaint against the Trump-Musk tag team using Supreme Court or lower court “original” jurisdiction.
Trump can’t preempt the conflicting provisions of statutes, treaties, and the Constitution using an Executive Order. He certainly can’t do it with an ordinary civilian or a “special government employee”, like Musk, to justify actions that are beyond either man’s authority.
“There is no immunity for unofficial acts. Pp. 5–43.” Trump v. United States, SCOTUS, 91 F. 4th 1173, vacated and remanded.
SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
■ Report: Jared Kushner Behind Trump’s Call for the US To ‘Take Over’ Gaza | by Dave DeCamp | Antiwar | February 5, 2025
EXCERPT: The online news site Puck has reported that Jared Kushner was involved in crafting President Trump’s plan for the US to “take over” Gaza, which involves the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population.
Citing Puck, The Times of Israel reported that Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, helped prepare the shock remarks the president made on Tuesday night during his press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. . .
ENTIRE ARTICLE – https://news.antiwar.com/2025/02/05/report-jared-kushner-behind-trumps-call-for-the-us-to-take-over-gaza/