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CNN
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President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States “will take over” the Gaza Strip — possibly with the help of American troops — while the Palestinians who live there should leave, a stunning proposal that would dramatically reorient the Middle East and subject a population of more than a million to further displacement.

“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said during a joint press conference alongside his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, later describing his vision for the area as a new “Riviera.”

“We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings,” he said.

Asked whether he was willing to send US troops to fill a security vacuum in Gaza, Trump did not rule it out.

“As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that. We’re going to take over that piece that we’re going to develop it,” he said.

Trump’s comments are a remarkable assertion from a sitting American president, particularly one who rose to political power in the United States through his criticism of America’s longest wars in the Middle East and pledges to return US investments back to its citizens. They open a host of questions about how Trump’s land-grab would proceed, what its legal authorities would be and who would pay for the effort.

“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 told reporters in the East Room of the White House. He said later: “This was not a decision made lightly. Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.”

There will be many in the region who oppose Trump’s plan, despite his claim that all of his interlocutors love it. Already, Egypt and Jordan have rejected the notion of accepting additional Palestinian refugees, wary of destabilization and fearful they will never be allowed back home.

Trump suggested that was exactly what he envisioned: a future in Gaza that largely does not involve Palestinians.

“I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza,” Trump said in the Oval Office earlier in the day. “I heard that Gaza has been very unlucky for them. They live like hell. They live like they’re living in hell. 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.”

Later, he added that Palestinians could be among those who return to Gaza, but he was clear he did not envision the strip as a permanent home for them.

“Palestinians also. Palestinians will live there. Many people will live there,” he said.

Trump, a former real estate developer, said during his press conference that he had studied the matter “closely, over a lot of months.”

Those comments followed his suggestion earlier in the day that Gazans move to a new location provided by one or more nations in the Middle East.

“I mean they’re there because they have no alternative. What do they have? It is a big pile of rubble right now,” Trump said moments before hosting Netanyahu for Oval Office talks.

Trump’s suggestion that Gazans leave the strip permanently amounts to a provocative stance that will endear him to Israel’s most conservative politicians but is generally a non-starter for Israel’s neighbors, who have said they are unwilling to accept new Palestinian refugees from the enclave.

At first on Tuesday, Trump framed the matter as a humanitarian one, saying it was impossible to believe anyone would want to remain in the war-torn territory.

“Why would they want to return? The place has been hell,” Trump said, ignoring a reporter who cried out: “Because it’s their home.”

Instead of Gaza, he suggested the Palestinians be provided a “good, fresh, beautiful piece of land” to live.

Netanyahu, sitting alongside Trump in the Oval Office, smiled as Trump was speaking. The Israeli leader, under conflicting pressures domestically, was in Washington to ascertain exactly where Trump stands on the next phase of a ceasefire in Gaza.

But Trump’s dim views of Gaza as a permanent home for Palestinians was certain to provide grist for far-right allies of the Israeli leader, who have called on Netanyahu to abandon the temporary truce that was struck last month.

‘Hard to grasp and digest’

Two Arab officials expressed puzzlement, concern and pessimism in the immediate wake of Trump’s unexpected remarks.

It was “rough, raw, hard to grasp and digest,” one official said, adding that they “need clarity and further development to become understood.”

A second official said the comments could jeopardize the fragile ceasefire deal in Gaza, stressing the “profound implications such proposals have on the lives and dignity of the Palestinian people, as well as the broader Middle East.”

“The reality remains that 1.8 million people in Gaza would resist such an initiative and refuse to leave,” the diplomat said. “Saudi Arabia is unlikely to pursue peace under these circumstances, and other nations may reconsider their commitments to the Abraham Accords.”

Trump’s comments, meanwhile, drew skepticism from congressional lawmakers, including from some within his own party.

“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,” said South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. “I think that might be problematic. But I’ll keep an open mind.”

The American president’s proclamation laying claim to Gaza as US territory did not appear likely to convince Hamas to return immediately to the negotiating table.

Trump said he was still determined to free the remaining hostages in Gaza. “We’d like to get all of the hostages, and if we don’t, it will just make us somewhat more violent,” he said.

Trump has claimed credit for the hostages-for-ceasefire agreement struck in the days before he entered office – and even officials in the outgoing Biden administration acknowledged Trump’s imminent arrival helped apply pressure on Israel and Hamas.

Netanyahu, perhaps seeking to ingratiate himself with his host, praised Trump’s efforts.

“I think President Trump added great force and powerful leadership to this effort,” Netanyahu said in the Oval Office.

But for all of his prodding to get the deal inked, Trump will still need to oversee the remaining two phases of the three-phase plan.

“We’ll see what happens. We’re dealing with very complicated people, but a deal can absolutely get done,” he said.

There was plenty for Trump and Netanyahu to discuss beyond the immediate matter of the ceasefire agreement.

There is the prospect of a broader normalization of relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, principally Saudi Arabia, that former President Joe Biden had been pursuing before the October 7, 2023, attacks. Trump, who openly pines for a Nobel Peace Prize, may see his opportunity in such a pursuit, which could transform the entire Middle East and create a new bulwark against Iran, a common foe to Jerusalem and Riyadh.

It’s not clear his comments Tuesday will be helpful. In a statement on X following Trump’s remarks, the Saudi Foreign Ministry restated its long-held position that it will not commit to normalization of relations with Israel without guarantees of a Palestinian state.

“Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the statement said.

Whether Netanyahu is interested in diplomacy – or whether he instead sees Trump’s arrival in Washington as a moment to take decisive action against Iran, potentially even taking out its nuclear program – remains to be seen.

Ahead off his arrival, there was speculation Netanyahu could use the talks to take Trump’s temperature on a direct strike, seizing a moment when Iranian proxies have been decimated, Iran’s nuclear ambitions appear to be accelerating and while he has friendlier ties to Washington.

Before Netanyahu arrived, Trump signed a directive authorizing a tough approach to Iran meant to prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon while warning of “obliteration” should he be assassinated by Tehran’s operatives.

Trump said he’d left directions for his team on how to respond should he fall prey to an Iranian assassination plot.

“I’ve left instructions,” Trump said. “If they do it, they’ll be obliterated.”

Netanyahu’s visit lasted several hours and included the joint press conference, all meant to demonstrate Trump’s solidarity with Israel.

But the comity between the men belied a relationship that’s more complicated than it sometimes appears – with nothing less than the future of the Middle East potentially riding on Trump’s words.

In the lead-up to last November’s election, there was little question among Biden’s team that Netanyahu favored a Trump victory, believing he would enjoy a far wider remit from the American government to prosecute his war aims with Trump in office instead of then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

Those predictions have not been wrong.

Already, Trump has lifted a hold on heavy bomb deliveries to Israel, rolling back one of the few Biden-era policies meant to exert leverage on Israel amid its war in Gaza.

But while Trump is popular in Israel, and Netanyahu enthusiastically welcomed his return to the White House, things haven’t always been so cheerful.

When Netanyahu congratulated Biden on his election victory in 2020, Trump was enraged at what he saw as betrayal. In the months that followed, Trump accused Netanyahu of disloyalty and fumed to the esteemed Israeli reporter Barak Ravid, now a CNN analyst: “F**k him.”

Even three years later, after Hamas launched the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history, it was clear Trump’s sore feelings hadn’t entirely faded.

“(Netanyahu) was not prepared. He was not prepared, and Israel was not prepared,” Trump said in an interview shortly after the attacks, comments that drew condemnation even from Republicans.

But Trump’s remarks Tuesday, delivered next to Netanyahu, suggest the animosity has been forgotten.

The prime minister is planning to remain in Washington well beyond his Tuesday talks with Trump. He arrived to Blair House, the presidential guest residence, late Sunday and is expected to stay until the end of the week, including for meetings on Capitol Hill.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Alex Marquardt, Kaitlan Collins, Zeena Saifi, Lucas Lilieholm and Irene Nasser contributed to this report.