Trump Seems to Have Dropped His Gaza Plan

Trump on Friday seemed to rescind his call for the permanent relocation of over two million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to neighboring Middle Eastern nations in order for the US to annex the region and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

The president indicated earlier this month that he supported occupying Gaza and forcing the Palestinians living in the destroyed coastal community to leave. He frequently batted away criticism of the concept over the course of many days, including categorical rejections from the presidents of Jordan and Egypt.

Mr. Trump said that he could use his power to convince the leaders of those two nations, as well as maybe others in the area, to embrace the Palestinians.

Mr. Trump stated, “They say they’re not going to accept.” “They will,” I say.

However, during a Friday phone conversation with a Fox News presenter, Mr. Trump appeared to acknowledge that his attempts at persuading had been unsuccessful and that the plan would be unfeasible due to Egypt and Jordan’s unwillingness to take in displaced Gazans.

“Well, we give Egypt and Jordan billions of money annually. Mr. Trump told Fox News anchor Brian Kilmeade, “I was a little surprised they’d say that, but they did,” before going on to declare, “I’ll tell you, the way to do it is my plan.” That, in my opinion, is the strategy that truly works. I’m not pressuring it, though. I’ll just take a back seat and suggest it.

For one of the most blatant foreign policy recommendations ever made by a sitting president, the remarks represented a dramatic turnaround. And these followed weeks of back and forth in which the president insisted that he was serious despite a number of senior Trump administration officials attempted to minimize the plan.

The notion was first brought up in public by Mr. Trump in early February when he said, “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip.” During a White House visit, accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr. Trump declared that the United States would “own it and be responsible” for getting rid of unexploded munitions and turning Gaza into a tourist destination and employment hub, promising that it would become “the Riviera of the Middle East.”