Hamas has strongly condemned former U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal for the United States to take control of the Gaza Strip and relocate its Palestinian population, calling it a “racist” attempt to erase the Palestinian cause.
Trump’s proposal, made during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, was met with audible gasps.
The former president claimed he would transform Gaza into a prosperous region by removing debris and unexploded ordnance, but his plan provided no details on how more than two million Palestinians would be relocated or how the territory would be governed.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” Trump declared.
He insisted that support for the idea existed among Middle Eastern leaders and pressured Egypt and Jordan to accept displaced Gazans—despite both nations firmly rejecting the idea.
Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007, immediately denounced the plan.
Spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou called it an “American racist stance” aligned with Israel’s far-right agenda to displace Palestinians.
“The Palestinian people will not allow their homeland to be erased,” he said.
Trump’s remarks suggested that Palestinians would not be included in Gaza’s reconstruction.
“It should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have… lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there,” he stated.
The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, rejected the idea, declaring, “Our homeland is our homeland.”
Many Palestinians in Gaza also dismissed Trump’s plan as an insult.
“Trump thinks Gaza is a pile of garbage—absolutely not,” said Hatem Azzam, a resident of Rafah.
For Palestinians, any forced displacement brings painful memories of the 1948 “Nakba,” or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were expelled during Israel’s creation.
Despite the backlash, Netanyahu praised Trump as Israel’s “greatest friend” and said the idea was worth considering.
However, regional leaders, including those in Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, swiftly rejected any forced displacement of Palestinians.
As tensions remain high, Netanyahu maintained that Israel would “end the war by winning the war,” while also hinting at a potential normalization deal with Saudi Arabia—though the kingdom has stated it will not establish formal ties with Israel unless a Palestinian state is recognized.
The war in Gaza, which erupted after Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, has led to tens of thousands of casualties.
While Israel continues military operations, the future of Gaza remains uncertain, with Trump’s proposal adding further controversy to an already volatile situation.
