Trump says US will ‘own’ Gaza in redevelopment plan
Al Jazeera
US president pledges to turn enclave into ‘the Riviera of the Middle East’.
United States President Donald Trump has said that the US will “take over” and “own” Gaza as part of a plan to turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East”.
In a shock announcement on Tuesday, Trump said his administration would spearhead an economic development that would “supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area”.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” Trump said at the White on Tuesday after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that Washington would be responsible for clearing destroyed buildings and dismantling “dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons”.
Trump said he envisioned the US taking a “long-term ownership position” over the enclave.
“This was not a decision made lightly. Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent,” he said.