Trump ‘disgusting and dangerous’ Gaza takeover plan sparks fury

US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which the newly inaugurated second-term president suggested a US takeover of Gaza, was met with widespread criticism by many observers.

“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump told reporters in a joint press conference with Netanyahu. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.”

He claimed that the jobs it would create would provide an economic boost, and he insisted that it would be warmly welcomed throughout the region. He had repeated this claim over the past several months, including during his presidential campaign.

“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,” Trump said, seeming to tap into his real estate background.

“I do see a long-term ownership position and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East.”

Trump’s proposal would result in the mass displacement of more than two million Gazans, who would be relocated to Egypt and Jordan, whose leaders are set to visit Washington later this month. 

In fielding questions to reporters, he did not rule out the US of military force to implement his plan.

The forcible relocation of Palestinians to neighbouring countries, reminiscent of colonial-era expulsions, would be both illegal and widely opposed by the public and world leaders.

“It’s both disgusting and dangerous,” James Zogby, a veteran pollster and president of the Arab American Institute, told The New Arab.

“It’s disgusting because it’s totally in violation of the rights of the people. It ignores their humanity and treats them as pawns, which is what has happened to them over the past hundred years anyways,” he added.

“For Trump to put us [the Americans] in this role is completely dangerous. They Palestinians won’t leave. They could be forced out, but it would be a nightmare scenario,” he said.

Others across the political spectrum, including several prominent Republicans, have expressed concern about Trump’s proposal for Gaza. US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump ally, described the plan as problematic.

“We’ll see what the Arab world says, but you know, that’d be problematic at many, many levels,” he said, emphasising that he doubts his constituents would want to see the US military sent to Gaza.

Outside the Republican Party, among Democrats and left-leaning Americans, many took to social media to cast the blame on Arab Americans for not fully backing Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election over her decision to not clearly distance herself from then-president Joe Biden over his support for Israel’s war in Gaza. 

For the leaders of the Uncommitted Movement, which sought to push the Democrats toward a presidential platform prioritising Palestinian human rights and energising the Arab and Muslim bases, it was the Democrats who failed to make themselves an appealing choice.

“Trump’s illegal calls for ethnic cleansing are horrific, but as on so many other issues, Democrats had a chance to persuade voters they were the better alternative and they blew it,” spokesperson Layla Elabed said in a statement.

“For months, we warned about the dangers of Trump at home and abroad but our calls largely went unheard,” she added.

For many, Netanyahu’s visit to Washington was part of a broader historic shift threatening American democracy, marked by the institutionalisation of right-wing Christian nationalism, the rise of oligarchy, and increasing threats to free expression.

“Netanyahu’s itinerary while in D.C. — including his meetings with Elon Musk and right-wing Christian nationalists — should make it crystal clear that the Israeli government’s policies are not only a threat to Palestinians, but a threat to Jewish people and all people who value peace and democracy,” said Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace, in a statement.

“These men are bigots, authoritarians, and oligarchs who seek to claim power at the expense of people all over the world. We are part of an international movement grounded in justice for all to oppose their power,” she added.

Indeed, on the same day as Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump, Democratic leaders staged demonstrations over the rapid dismantling of the federal government led by tech billionaire and Trump megadonor Elon Musk, who has not gone through a security clearance.

“This is a coup. This is an actual coup. We’re seeing the government being taken over. This is a hostile takeover,” said Zogby. “We’ll look back on this time and see this as one of the most dangerous in history.”

Meanwhile, a major protest over Netanyahu’s visit drew around a thousand people, despite repeated threats by Trump of punishing pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

“Trump is speaking about Gaza as if it’s a real estate project. He’s openly discussing plans to forcibly remove people from their land and make Gaza unlivable,” Anyssa Dhaouadi, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement in the Washington, DC (DMV) area, told TNA.

“The people in Gaza have survived a vicious genocide for over 15 months, and they still refuse to leave their homeland, and people across the diaspora are ready to help them rebuild.”

Trump’s statements on the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, coming just two weeks into his second term, could very well signal a ominous turning point for those who have hoped for a diplomatic solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“The consequences of this will last for a long time. Palestine remains a wound in the Arab heart, and engineering this would be a black spot on our soul,” said Zogby.

“Trump would eclipse Biden as the worst US president for Palestinians ever. Biden enabled the genocide. Trump would be the engineer of it.”