White House defends Trump's Gaza takeover, resettlement proposal

The White House on Wednesday defended President Trump’s proposal for the United States to take control of the Gaza Strip amid blowback from Arab leaders and some Republicans.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt was peppered with questions at a briefing with reporters about Trump’s comments a day earlier in which he suggested Palestinians should permanently relocate out of Gaza and that the U.S. should turn the territory into an economic development. Trump said U.S. troops would be used to secure the Gaza Strip “if it’s necessary.”

Leavitt disputed the suggestion that Trump’s comments were at odds with his “America First” foreign policy doctrine or years of railing against U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts.

“I would reject the premise of your question that this forces the United States to be entangled in conflicts abroad,” Leavitt said. “The president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza. He has also said the United States is not going to pay for the rebuilding of Gaza."

“This is an out-of-the-box idea. That’s who President Trump is. That’s why the American people elected him,” she added. “His goal is lasting peace in the Middle East for all people in the region.”

Leavitt offered a slight break from Trump on the question of whether Palestinians living in Gaza should be permanently relocated, suggesting it may only be temporary.

“The president has made it clear they need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza for the rebuilding of this effort,” she said. “Again, it’s a demolition site right now. It’s not a livable place for any human being.”

Trump’s Gaza proposal was announced during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump at the White House since the start of his second term.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it,” Trump said. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”

Arab leaders in the region have said efforts to displace Palestinians or move them into neighboring countries are a nonstarter. Egypt and Jordan, countries with peace treaties with Israel, oppose absorbing Palestinians, claiming it poses a security risk, is destabilizing and threatens to provoke mass opposition.

Palestinian and Arab leaders have rejected Trump’s proposal.

Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian National Authority, said Trump’s comments “represent a serious violation of international law.”

Saudi Arabia reiterated its “absolute rejection of infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, annexation of Palestinian lands or efforts to displace the Palestinian people from their land.”

Republicans appeared skeptical of any proposal that involved sending U.S. troops to the Gaza Strip.

“The pursuit for peace should be that of the Israelis and the Palestinians,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) posted on the social platform X. “I thought we voted for America First. We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers blood.”

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