Trump says US will take over Gaza Strip, create 'Riviera of the Middle East'

President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States would "take over" the Gaza Strip, resettle Palestinians in other countries and turn the territory into "the Riviera of the Middle East" in a startling announcement that drew audible gasps during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

President Donald Trump said the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere, moves that would shatter decades of US policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Trump unveiled his surprise plan, without providing specifics, at a joint press conference on Tuesday with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

The announcement followed Trump's shock proposal earlier on Tuesday for the permanent resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries, calling the enclave – where the first phase of a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire is in effect – a "demolition site."

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Trump can expect allies and foes alike to strongly oppose any US takeover of Gaza. The US taking a direct stake there would run counter to longtime policy in Washington and for much of the international community, which has held that Gaza would be part of a future Palestinian state that includes the occupied West Bank.

"The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too," Trump told reporters. "We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site."


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