Trump says Palestinians have ‘no alternative’ but to leave Gaza

President in effect endorses ethnic cleansing of territory before hosting meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu

Donald Trump has said Palestinians have “no alternative” but to leave Gaza due to the devastation left by Israel’s war on Hamas, in effect endorsing ethnic cleansing of the territory over the opposition of Palestinians and neighbouring countries.

Speaking as he prepared to host Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday, Trump repeated the suggestion that Gaza’s population should be relocated to Jordan and Egypt – something both countries have firmly rejected.

Trump claimed Palestinians would “love to leave Gaza”, telling reporters: “I would think that they would be thrilled.”

After 16 months of devastating war with Israel, Trump said Gaza was “a pure demolition site”.

“I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza. Gaza is not a place for people to be living, and the only reason they want to go back, and I believe this strongly, is because they have no alternative… If they had an alternative, they’d much rather not go back to Gaza and live in a beautiful alternative that’s safe,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.

“If we could find the right piece of land, or numerous pieces of land, and build them some really nice places with plenty of money in the area, that’s for sure. I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza,” he said.

When asked where such places might be, he suggested they could be in Jordan, Egypt or “other places. You could have more than two.

“You’d have people living in a place that could be very beautiful, and safe and nice. Gaza’s been a disaster for decades.”

Asked about the reaction of Palestinian and other Arab leaders to his proposal, Trump said: “I don’t know how they could want to stay.”

Sitting alongside Netanyahu, Trump was questioned by reporters whether Palestinians would have the right to return to Gaza if they left while the rebuilding was happening. The president replied: “It would be my hope that we could do something really nice, really good, where they wouldn’t want to return. Why would they want to return?”

A senior Hamas official dismissed the suggestion as a “a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region.”

Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement: “Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass. What is required is an end to the occupation and aggression against our people, not their expulsion from their land.”

Mathew Matthews

Article URL : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/04/trump-netanyahu-gaza