The reaction to Trump’s Gaza plan from Palestinian authorities has been swift and unsurprising.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, firmly rejected the resettlement proposals, saying: “Our homeland is our homeland.
“The Palestinian people selected the choice to return to it. We should be respecting the selections and the wishes of the Palestinian people,” he said in a video posted on X.
“They want to rebuild the schools, the hospitals, the roads, the infrastructure, the buildings and the homes because this is where they belong, and they love to live there.”
He added: “Those who want to send them to a happy nice place, let them go back to their original homes inside Israel.”
The Palestine Liberation Organisation, which is internationally recognised as the representative of the Palestinian people, reaffirmed its backing of the two-state solution.
Hussein Sheikh, its secretary general, said it was a solution that would guarantee “security, stability and peace”.
Everything Trump said in his shock Gaza announcement
Donald Trump laid out his shock Gaza announcement at a news conference in Washington last night, alongside visiting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Here’s a detailed rundown of what we heard – and some of the reaction.
‘We will own Gaza’
Donald Trump prompted a wave of international outrage with his announcement that the US will “take over” and “own” Gaza.
Asked on what authority the US could take control of Gaza, he did not give a clear answer, saying he saw a “long-term ownership position” which would, he claimed, bring stability to that part of the Middle East.
“We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,” he said.
He said the US would “get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area”.
What he said about Palestinians whose home is Gaza
Trump said Washington would ask other neighbouring countries to take in Palestinians displaced from Gaza. He has repeatedly asked Egypt and Jordan to do so over the last fortnight. They and other Arab states have rejected his proposal.
“Instead, 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. This could be paid for by neighbouring countries of great wealth,” he said.
Gaza’s population before the war was 2.3 million.
Forced displacement of Gazans would be a violation of international law and would be fiercely opposed by other countries in the region and Western allies of the US. Trump’s suggestion that the people of Gaza should be “permanently resettled” has been described as an endorsement of ethnic cleansing by human rights experts.
UN experts have defined ethnic cleansing as “a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas”.
Gaza has been largely destroyed after 15 months of Israeli bombardmentReuters
Gazans ‘only want to return home because they have no alternative’
Trump also claimed the “only reason” Gazans wanted to return was because they had no alternative.
“I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza,” he said.
“Gaza is not a place for people to be living, and the only reason they want to go back, and I believe this strongly, is because they have no alternative…
“If they had an alternative, they’d much rather not go back to Gaza and live in a beautiful alternative that’s safe.”
Will US send troops for Trump’s plan?
Asked if the US would send troops to Gaza to help facilitate his plan, Trump said: “We’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that. We’re going to take over that piece.
“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.
He also said Gaza could become “the Riviera of the Middle East” where “the world’s people” could live.
The remarks echoed previous comments from his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who said Gaza had very valuable “waterfront property”.
What he said about two-state solution
Asked if he was still committed to a plan similar to the one he spelled out in 2020 that described a possible Palestinian state, Trump said: “Well, a lot of plans change with time.”
Asked if the plan he had suggested meant he was now opposed to a two-state solution, he said: “It doesn’t mean anything about a two-state or one state or any other state. It means that we want to have, we want to give people a chance at life.
“They have never had a chance at life because the Gaza Strip has been a hellhole for people living there. It’s been horrible.”
Claims of support from Middle East leaders
Trump suggested he had received support from other leaders in the Middle East, without providing any names of those leaders.
“This was not a decision made lightly,” he said.
“Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs.”
What other Middle East nations have said
Saudi Arabia said it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state, contradicting Trump’s claim that Riyadh was not demanding a Palestinian homeland.
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, Saudi’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
As mentioned previously, Jordan and Egypt have both rejected suggestions that people in Gaza would be relocated in their countries.
What have Palestinian groups said?
Hamas has condemned Trump’s calls for Palestinians in Gaza to leave as “expulsion from their land”.
The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, said world leaders and people should respect Palestinians’ desire to remain in Gaza.
“Our homeland is our homeland,” he said – read his comments in full in our post at 824am.
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