The recent proposal by US President Donald Trump to take over the Gaza Strip after the displacement of Palestinians has raised an outrage and fears of ethnic cleansing. In a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said Palestinians would “love to leave” Gaza as he envisioned a long-term US presence aimed at rebuilding the area into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Reactions have been swift. Hamas condemned the idea, with senior official Sami Abu Zuhri calling it an “expulsion from their land” that could incite chaos. The PLO rejected any calls for displacement, saying Palestinian rights must be upheld under international law.
Similarly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas emphatically protested the displacement of Palestinians, adding that peace would result only when a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, was in place. Palestinian Islamic Jihad branded the remarks of Trump dangerous escalation, threatening regional stability.
International reactions were not any less critical: Saudi Arabia repeated once more that normalization with Israel is conditioned by the creation of a Palestinian state, while Jordan’s King Abdullah II called for a halt to Israeli settlement expansion. Iran and Russia strongly opposed any displacement efforts.
U.S. lawmakers joined in condemning the plan. Senator Chris Murphy described the Trump plan as reckless and Senator Chris Van Hollen called it ethnic cleansing. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, meanwhile insisted that Palestinians “will not be bullied from our homeland.”.
Countries like France, Germany, and Spain reaffirmed their support for a two-state solution, adding that the future of Gaza should be left to its people. UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese condemned the plan as illegal and called for the international isolation of the U.S. over the move. Amnesty International warned such displacement would erase Palestinian identity and further deteriorate the humanitarian situation.
