More Trumpian bluster or a real straw in the wind? > > https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/04/trump-netanyahu-meeting/?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wp_news_alert_revere&location=alert > > >
*Trump proposes U.S. control of Gaza, permanent displacement of residents* By Michael Birnbaum Washington Post February 4 2025 > > > > President Donald Trump ( https://www.washingtonpost.com/donald-trump/ ) on > Tuesday proposed that the United States take a “long-term ownership > position” over Gaza, moving its residents to a “good, fresh, beautiful > piece of land” in another country and rebuilding the war-torn territory > under U.S. control, offering a vision of mass displacement likely to > inflame sentiments in the Arab world as he welcomed Israeli Prime Minister > Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House ( > https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/03/netanyahu-trump-white-house-gaza/ > ). > > > > > Trump’s proposal was likely to provoke a furious reaction from many > Palestinians as well as their Arab allies in the region, since it > suggested permanently removing Gaza’s 2.2 million residents from > Palestinian territory and settling them outside of their land. It would > also pull the United States even more deeply into the conflict by taking > over territory that belongs to Palestinians. > > > > > The idea was a first indicator of Trump’s swaggering approach to the > region, as he waded into a generations-old conflict with the assurance > that he could resolve what years of efforts by U.S. diplomats have failed > to accomplish. His proposal appeared to give little consideration to what > Palestinians have said they want. > > > > > Gazan residents generally want to stay on their land, and neighboring Arab > nations have fiercely opposed handing over their own territory because > they do not want to abet an Israeli expulsion of Palestinians. > > > > > Trump did not specify where the new land for Gazans might be found, > although he made his comments after repeating his desire for Egypt and > Jordan to take in Gaza’s residents. Nor did he appear to grapple with the > many Gazan residents who would not want to depart their home territory, > nor with the practicalities of potentially forcing them to leave it. > > > > > “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,” Trump said. > > > > > Asked if U.S. troops would be deployed to take over Gaza, Trump said that > “we’ll do what’s necessary. … We’ll take it over and develop it.” > > > > > Netanyahu said that he was open to the idea. > > > > > “He sees a different future for that piece of land,” Netanyahu said of > Trump’s proposal for the United States to take over Gaza. > > > > > “It’s worth paying attention to this. We’re talking about it,” he added. > “It’s something that could change history.” > > > > > Ahead of the meetings with Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump said he believed > Palestinians in Gaza did not have a future there. > > > > > “Look, the Gaza thing has not worked. It’s never worked,” Trump told > reporters. “I think they should get a good, fresh, beautiful piece of > land, and we get some people to put up the money to build it and make it > nice and make it habitable and enjoyable.” > > > > > The president suggested that it could be a “piece of land, or numerous > pieces of land,” raising the possibility that Palestinians could spread > across multiple places, potentially diluting their identity — another idea > that would spark anger among advocates for the war-battered territory, > which faced relentless Israeli bombardment for nearly 16 months until a > ceasefire took hold just before Trump took office last month. > > > > > Gaza “has been hell,” Trump later told reporters. “You take certain areas > and you build really good-quality housing, like a beautiful town, like > some place where they can live and not die, because Gaza is a guarantee > that they’re going to end up dying. The same thing is going to happen > again." > > > > > Trump added that he felt that Gaza’s residents would “love to leave Gaza > if they had an option. Right now, they don’t have an option.” > > > > > After the meetings, Trump said that a U.S. rebuilding effort in Gaza would > create “economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs > and housing for the people of the area.” He didn’t specify which people he > meant. > > > > > Netanyahu lavished the new U.S. leader with praise. > > > > > “You say things others refuse to say,” Netanyahu said. “And after the jaws > drop, people scratch their heads and they say, ‘You know, he's right.’” > > > > > The two leaders have a complicated history. They were close allies during > Trump’s first term, when he moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. But in > the aftermath of the 2020 election, the Israeli leader congratulated Biden > on winning. Trump then began publicly and privately criticizing Netanyahu. > > > > > > But Trump’s decision to welcome the Israeli leader as his first > international guest suggests an effort to patch up the relationship. > > > > > Trump’s blunt approach to Gaza’s future stood in sharp contrast with the > Biden administration, which spent more than a year making painstaking, > repeated visits to the region to try to devise a reconstruction plan that > would satisfy the kaleidoscope of competing interests over the > war-battered territory. > > > > > Egypt and Jordan have hotly resisted Trump’s attempts to cajole them into > taking Palestinians during the reconstruction of Gaza, a process he has > said could take 10 or 15 years. > > > > > In addition to rebuilding Gaza, Trump and Netanyahu discussed the tenuous > ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ( > https://www.washingtonpost.com/israel-hamas-war/ ) , how to handle Iran, > and normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The two leaders > held a series of meetings at the White House, and planned to hold a > private dinner there too. > > > > > Ahead of the meeting, the foreign ministers of Egypt and Turkey — another > country that has been involved in brokering an end to the conflict — released > a joint statement ( > https://www.mfa.gov.tr/joint-statement-between-the-foreign-ministers-of-turkiye-and-egypt.en.mfa > ) rejecting any proposal to displace or resettle Palestinians to “countries > outside the Palestinian territories, either for short-term or long-term > purposes.” > > > > > Many Gazans also rejected it. > > > > > “Our Palestinian people, and the people of Gaza in particular, are rooted > here and will not go anywhere. If Trump wants to pave something, he can go > pave the sea,” Mustafa Ibrahim, a Gaza-based political expert, wrote on > Facebook. > > > > > So did Hamas, the militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and > retains control of significant parts of Gaza. > > > > > “Trump's statements are racist, and a blatant attempt to liquidate our > Palestinian cause and deny our established national rights,” Izzat > al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement. > > > > > Trump has invited Jordan’s King Abdullah II for a meeting in Washington > next week. Egypt, meanwhile, is deeply dependent on the United States for > military aid, giving Trump significant power in the relationship. > > > > > Trump, a former real estate developer, last month referred to Gaza as “a > phenomenal location, on the sea, the best weather,” and added that “some > fantastic things could be done with Gaza.” > > > > > The visit comes at a difficult moment for Netanyahu, who has faced > domestic criticism from members of his coalition for agreeing to a > ceasefire, as well as international condemnation for his role in creating > a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. > > > > > Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump was one part of several days of meetings as > he adjusts to a Washington that has changed politically over the past few > weeks, with Republicans who are more aligned with him now more ascendant. > In addition to meetings with Trump administration officials Monday and > Tuesday, Netanyahu is expected to visit with congressional leaders > Thursday. > > > > > Despite Trump’s campaign promises to back Israel more enthusiastically > than the Biden administration, he ** and Netanyahu do not see eye to eye > about all aspects of the conflict. > > > > > Among other issues, Trump favors a swift and final end to the war. > Netanyahu is facing a domestic rebellion from his right-wing coalition > partners if he does not resume the fighting in Gaza once the hostages are > released as part of the first phase of the deal. The Israeli leader will > need to reconcile the differences. > > > > > The agreement, which was mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, > began Jan. 19 and includes an initial phase of 42 days. Phase-two > negotiations are expected to start this week, with some issues still > unresolved. The initial ceasefire is supposed to continue even if the > second phase is not agreed in time. > > > > > “We’re going to try” to get to the second phase, Netanyahu said Tuesday > ahead of the meeting. > > > > > Over the past two weeks, Hamas and allied militants have released 18 > hostages who were abducted in the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, including 13 > Israelis and five Thai nationals. Israel has also freed more than 580 > Palestinian prisoners and detainees, allowed more aid to flow into Gaza > and withdrawn its troops from key military posts in the enclave. > > > > > The Gaza Health Ministry says that more than 47,000 people have been > killed in the territory since October 2023. About 40 people are believed > to still be held hostage in Gaza. > > > > > The two leaders also discussed normalizing relations between Israel and > Saudi Arabia. That was a goal during Trump’s first term, and something > that Biden also made a priority. > > > > > Trump has floated traveling to Saudi Arabia as his first foreign trip. Any > agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel would be a major breakthrough > for the security and economy of the region, building trade ties between > the Jewish state and the biggest and most important Arab nation after > decades of tensions. > > > > > The two countries were close to a deal just ahead of the Hamas attacks of > Oct. 7, 2023. But the ferocious Israeli response has complicated the > ability of Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin > Salman, to strike an agreement. > > > > > Trump and Netanyahu also discuss *e* d Iran, which both U.S. and Israeli > officials believe is at its weakest point in years. After the collapse of > its regional proxies. Tehran has been left without most of the tools it > has used for decades to exert power throughout the Middle East. > > > > > That vulnerability could provide an opening to some sort of deal with the > United States and the international community. But it also makes Tehran > more of a target for Iran hawks in both Israel and Washington, and could > spur Iranian leaders to go forward in their efforts to develop a nuclear > weapon, policymakers said. > > > > > Ahead of the meeting with Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump signed an executive > order that reimposed “maximum pressure” on Iran, a first-term policy that > imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Tehran’s economy in a bid to deter it > from pursuing nuclear weapons. > > > > > Trump also signed an executive order pulling the United States from the > United Nations Human Rights Council and the U.N. agency that provides aid > to Gaza, which Israel has criticized as working in coordination with > Hamas. The decision is mostly symbolic after Congress last year pulled > funding for the group. > > > > > Karen DeYoung in Washington, Shira Rubin in Tel Aviv and Hazem Balousha in > Toronto contributed to this report. > > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#34980): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/34980 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/111004769/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
