Donald Trump claims Gazans would only be 'temporarily' resettled under his 'Riviera of the Middle East' plan

President Donald Trump appears to have backed away from his claim that Gazans need to be permanently resettled while America “takes over” the war-ruined territory. The White House hailed Trump’s Gaza proposal as historic “outside of the box” thinking despite growing international condemnation of his push to transfer Palestinians out of Gaza and turn the strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

But press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing on Wednesday night that the president had not committed to putting “boots on the ground” in the territory. At the same time, she rowed back on Trump’s earlier assertion that Gazans needed to be permanently resettled in neighbouring countries, saying instead that they should be “temporarily relocated” for the rebuilding process. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said the idea was for Gazans to leave the territory for an “interim” period of reconstruction and debris-clearing.

A longtime New York property developer, Trump’s proposals drew concern from world powers including the US, China and Germany, which said his plan would foster “new suffering and new hatred.”. Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia rejected the proposal outright. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told the Commons that Palestinians “must be allowed to rebuild and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution”.

Downing Street has said the UK will “speak to President Trump and his team about all of his proposals” when asked if the PM believed the US leader's suggestions could form part of the process of rebuilding Gaza. Number 10 also rejected the idea that Trump’s remarks could jeopardise the ceasefire deal in the Middle East, with the Prime Minister’s official spokesman telling journalists “we will obviously continue to support the implementation of that”.

However, officials refused to be drawn on whether the UK Government’s support for a two-state solution in the Middle East was incompatible with Trump’s remarks, as the spokesman said: "We will work with President Trump and his team on a wide range of issues, including the Middle East.”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump’s proposal “remarkable” and urged that it be explored, even as he was not specific about what he believed Trump was offering.

Barely two weeks in the job, Trump shattered decades of US policy on Tuesday with a vaguely worded announcement saying he envisioned transforming Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” where international communities could coexist after nearly 16 months of Israeli bombardment devastated the coastal strip and killed more than 47,000 people, according to Palestinian tallies. In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said he did not believe the president was suggesting sending US troops to fight Hamas in Gaza or that the United States would finance rebuilding efforts there.

Netanyahu, who met with Trump at the White House on Tuesday, said he supports Trump’s suggestion that Gazans be free to leave and return to the war-ravaged area. “They can leave, they can then come back. They can relocate and come back,” he said. “It’s a remarkable idea and I think it should be really pursued, examined, pursued and done, because I think it will create a different future for everyone,” Netanyahu said without offering specifics.

It was unclear whether Trump would go ahead with his proposal or was simply laying out an extreme position as a bargaining tactic. Trump’s son-in-law and former aide, Jared Kushner, last year described Gaza as valuable waterfront property, and on Tuesday Trump made similar claims as he called for the permanent resettlement of the more than 2 million Palestinians from there. Some experts said the proposed actions could violate international law. Others described his ideas as unworkable. Human rights advocates said it would amount to “ethnic cleansing.”.

“Everybody loves it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office earlier on Wednesday, referring to his Gaza idea. Trump’s proposal, however, appears to run counter to US public opinion, which polls have shown is overwhelmingly opposed to new entanglements in conflict zones following lengthy military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Trump frequently asserted during the 2024 election campaign and since returning to office that he would end what he called “ridiculous” wars and prevent others from starting.