Donald Trump insists 'everybody loves' proposal for US Gaza 'take over' - as UAE rejects idea of evicting Palestinians
5 February 2025, 18:38 | Updated: 5 February 2025, 18:54
Donald Trump has insisted that "everybody loves" his proposal for the US to "take over" Gaza following Tuesday's meeting with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Following the pair's meeting, Trump had suggested turning the Gaza Strip into the "Riviera of the Middle East" and relocate Palestinians to neighbouring Arab states.
It was an idea that was met with widespread condemnation from neighbouring nations - as well as the wider world, with Palestinians telling Donald Trump to “go to hell” on Wednesday.
US Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told the media that Trump “expects” countries in the Middle East to “step up and to accept Palestinian refugees who will be temporarily relocated for the rebuilding of Gaza”.
"Trump has not committed to putting boots on the ground," she told the media, adding this "does not mean American taxpayers will be funding soldiers".
In the hours that followed the US President's comments, the UAE also rejected the idea of evicting around two million Palestinians from Gaza.
In a statement, the UAE foreign ministry “stressed its categorical rejection of any infringement on the Palestinians’ unalienable rights, and any attempts of displacement”.
Hours later, a pro-Trump group of Arab Americans changed its name, effectively cutting ties with the US president.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed "the importance of halting any settlement activities which threaten regional stability and undermine the opportunities for peace and co-existence".
It also "underscored the importance of preventing the expansion of the scale of conflict in the region, highlighting that the priority following the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip must focus on eliminating extremism, tensions, violence, and providing protection for all civilians."
It comes as Hezbollah described Donald Trump’s plans to relocate Palestinians out of Gaza as “criminal orders”.
On Tuesday, Trump had announced plans for US ownership of the Gaza Strip, declaring "the Gaza thing has never worked."
During a press conference late on Tuesday following his meeting with Netanyahu, the US president went on to describe how Gaza had been a "very unlucky place for a long time".
He added that together, the US and Israel would return "peace" and "prosperity" to the region going forward and proposed a US-owned land where Palestinians could live "peacefully".
Speaking on Wednesday, one Gaza resident said: "Trump can go to hell, with his ideas, with his money, and with his beliefs."
Speaking with Sky News from Gaza City, he added: "We are going nowhere. We are not some of his assets."
The father-of-five added: "If he wants to resolve this conflict, he should take the Israelis and put them in one of the states [in the US].
"They are the strangers, not the Palestinians. We are the owners of the land."
