Aletho News

Trump’s call for US ‘takeover’ of Gaza sparks international backlash

The Cradle | February 5, 2025

US President Donald Trump’s declaration that Washington will “own” the Gaza Strip and expel its residents has sparked widespread backlash and condemnation.

Hamas said in a statement on 5 February that it condemns “in the strongest terms and reject[s] the statements of US President Trump aimed at the United States of America occupying the Gaza Strip and displacing our Palestinian people from it.”

“We confirm that these statements are hostile to our people and our cause, will not serve stability in the region, and will only add fuel to the fire,” the statement added. “We … will not allow any country in the world to occupy our land or impose guardianship over our great Palestinian people.”

“We call on the US administration and President Trump to retract these irresponsible statements that contradict international laws and the natural rights of our Palestinian people in their land,” Hamas went on to say, calling on the Arab League, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the UN to hold urgent meetings to address Trump’s statements.

Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and top adviser to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas said: “The Palestinian leadership … confirms its rejection of all calls for the displacement of the Palestinian people from their homeland. This is where we were born, this is where we lived, and this is where we will remain. We appreciate the Arab position committed to these constants.”

Several regional countries have also expressed their opposition to Trump’s statements.

“Trump’s statements regarding Gaza are unacceptable. Expelling (the Palestinians) from Gaza is an unacceptable issue neither on our part nor on the part of the countries of the region. There is no need to even discuss it,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Saudi Arabia said in a statement that it rejects any attempt to displace Palestinians from their land, adding that Riyadh will not normalize ties with Israel until a Palestinian state is established – in response to the US president’s claim that the kingdom is not demanding statehood in exchange for normalization as it has been publicly calling for.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aati and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa jointly rejected “the exodus” of the Palestinian people and called for “accelerated” entry of aid and recovery programs.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jiang responded to Trump, telling reporters Beijing “has always believed that Palestinians governing Palestine is the fundamental principle for postwar governance in Gaza.”

“We oppose the forced displacement and relocation of the population in Gaza,” he added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov referred to Trump’s remarks as a manifestation “of Western cancel culture.”

The French Foreign Ministry said the future of Gaza must be based on a “future Palestinian state” and not controlled by “a third state.”

UK Environment Secretary Steve Reed said that “it is the view of the [British] Government that Palestinians should be able to return to their homes and rebuild their shattered lives.”

Members of the US Democratic and Republican parties also responded. Democratic senator Chris Murphy said Trump has “totally lost it.”

“A US invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of US troops and decades of war in the Middle East. It’s like a bad, sick joke,” Murphy said.

Democratic representative Jake Auchincloss called the Trump plan “reckless and unreasonable.”

Former Republican member of the US Congress, Justin Amash, said: “If the United States deploys troops to forcibly remove Muslims and Christians … from Gaza, then not only will the US be mired in another reckless occupation but it will also be guilty of the crime of ethnic cleansing. No American of good conscience should stand for this.”

Dan Shapiro, former US ambassador to Israel during Barack Obama’s presidency, said it “was not a serious proposal” and “would require a huge cost in American money and troops, without the support of key partners in the region.”

Trump’s controversial remarks came during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 5 February and during separate statements made during the Israeli premier’s visit.

“The US will take over the Gaza Strip … I see it as a long-term ownership position,” Trump said.

“I have a feeling that the king in Jordan and that … the general president [of Egypt], but the general and Egypt will open their hearts and will give us the kind of land that we need to get this done,” Trump said.

Trump has been insisting that over a million Palestinians in Gaza be expelled and that Jordan and Egypt take them in – which both Cairo and Amman have rejected.

He called Gaza “a symbol of death and destruction” and said that its residents only want to go back there because they have nowhere else to go.

February 5, 2025 - Posted by aletho | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | Gaza, Human rights, Israel, Palestine, United States, Zionism