Geline Salac

'No way in hell' Trump's Gaza plan works, says Middle East expert

Article (news)

Reuters Wires

<p>US President Donald Trump&#x27;s proposal for the U.S. to take over war-ruined Gaza and create a &quot;Riviera of the Middle East&quot; after relocating Palestinians elsewhere is generating widespread criticism domestically and abroad.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/2/5/-riviera-of-the-middle-east-trump-touts-plan-for-us-control-of-gaza-strip-1019">&#x27;Riviera of the Middle East&#x27;: Trump touts plan for US control of Gaza Strip</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/2/5/five-obstacles-to-trump-s-designs-on-controlling-gaza-2353">Five obstacles to Trump&#x27;s designs on controlling Gaza</a></div><p>A longtime New York property developer, Trump drew rebukes on Wednesday (February 5) from world powers Russia, China and Germany, which said the plan would foster &quot;new suffering and new hatred.&quot; Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia rejected the proposal outright.</p><p>University of California, Los Angeles history professor James Gelvin, a Middle East expert, said Trump’s provocative plan is a nonstarter.</p><p>“There&#x27;s no way in hell that this thing is going to work,” Gelvin said. “It involves ethnic cleansing of Gaza, it involves American commitment of troops, it involves violations of international law.”</p><p>Barely two weeks in the job, Trump shattered decades of U.S. policy on Tuesday (February 4) with a vaguely worded announcement saying he envisioned building a resort where international communities could live in harmony, after nearly 16 months of Israeli bombardment devastated the coastal enclave and killed more than 47,000 people, according to Palestinian tallies.</p><p>At a White House briefing on Wednesday, Trump&#x27;s press secretary Karoline Leavitt hailed his Gaza proposal as &quot;historic&quot; and &quot;outside of the box&quot; thinking but stressed that the president had not made a commitment to putting &quot;boots on the ground&quot; in the Palestinian enclave. She declined, however, to rule out potential use of U.S. troops there.</p><p>Human rights attorney, Rutgers professor and activist Noura Erakat suggested American interference in Gaza could jeopardize the safety of U.S. citizens.</p><p>“Unless we are able to pay attention as much to what the United States does to other people abroad, then we are unable to adequately protect Americans in the United States,” Erakat said.</p>

<p>US President Donald Trump's proposal for the U.S. to take over war-ruined Gaza and create a "Riviera of the Middle East" after relocating Palestinians elsewhere is generating widespread criticism domestically and abroad.</p>

US President Donald Trump's proposal for the U.S. to take over war-ruined Gaza and create a "Riviera of the Middle East" after relocating Palestinians elsewhere is generating widespread criticism domestically and abroad.

'No way in hell' Trump's Gaza plan works, says Middle East expert

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'No way in hell' Trump's Gaza plan works, says Middle East expert

Reuters

Published February 06, 2025 09:15 AM PHT

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