Donald Trump’s ‘Riviera’ plan for Gaza shocks the Middle East and the world

Donald Trump has up-ended the fraught politics of the Middle East with one of the most contentious plans ever unveiled by a US president, declaring that America will take ownership of Gaza and turn it into a new ‘Riviera’.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday (AEDT). Picture: AFP

Donald Trump has up-ended the fraught politics of the Middle East with one of the most contentious plans ever unveiled by a US president, declaring that America will take ownership of Gaza, resettle more than two million people, and turn the Palestinian territory into a new “Riviera”.

The White House was preparing to tackle swift and broad opposition to the President’s plan – from the UN, Palestinians, Arab countries and the Gaza-controlling terrorist group Hamas – as Mr Trump left open the possibility of dispatching American troops to make his vision for Gaza come true.

Framing his proposal in ­humanitarian terms, the President said Gaza was a demolition site that was unlivable and that new solutions were needed.

Anthony Albanese and other US allies were left scrambling on how to deal with Mr Trump’s radical Middle East proposal, with the Prime Minister repeatedly shutting down attempts to get his opinion on the Gaza plan and saying he would not give a “running commentary” on the Republican’s comments.

Jewish groups in Australia had hoped Mr Trump could help end the 16-month Israel-Hamas war but were fearful of any attempts to remove millions of Palestinians from Gaza.

The nation’s Muslim communities also expressed shock and said the policy could worsen tensions between Jews and Arabs.

Mr Trump said America should take “long-term” ownership of Gaza and resettle its people in “beautiful” areas in other Arab countries where they could live in peace.

“I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza. I think that Gaza has been very unlucky for them,” Mr Trump said during a joint press conference with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.

“They’ve lived like hell. 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.”

Mr Trump said the US would rebuild Gaza from the ground up and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East” with “economic ­development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area”.

Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu at the White House. Picture: AFP

He did not rule out using US troops to help secure his aims. “We’ll do what is necessary,” Trump said about the possibility of deploying troops to fill any security vacuum.

“If it’s necessary, we’ll do that.”

However, the deployment of American troops in Gaza would risk the US being caught in another Middle East conflict, something Mr Trump promised he would never do.

The President said his plan involved moving Gaza’s residents to a “good, fresh, beautiful piece of land” in another country.

Asked how many Palestinians he had in mind, he said, “all of them”, adding, “I would think that they would be thrilled.”

But Mr Trump did not clarify whether those Palestinians who refused to leave Gaza would be forcefully removed, an act that would contravene the Geneva Conventions. He also did not say what role, if any, Israel might have in the removal of Palestinians from Gaza.

Mr Trump said that a rebuilt Gaza would ultimately be occupied by many different people “of the world” including Palestinians, but did not specify what he meant.

“I do see a long-term ownership position (the US), and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East, and maybe the entire Middle East,” the President said. He did not say if the US would seek to claim Gaza permanently.

Mr Albanese declined to comment on Mr Trump’s Gaza plan, saying only that Australia’s position on the Palestinian territory was unchanged and that Australia supported a two-state solution in the Middle East.

Other US allies are also unlikely to support the plan if it effectively kills the chances of a two-state solution.

However, Mr Trump appeared to play down prospects of a two-state solution under his plan, saying that “a lot of plans change with time. A lot of death has occurred since I left and now came back.”

Peter Dutton and his frontbench also avoided commenting on the Trump plan, with opposition assistant foreign affairs spokesman Julian Leeser saying: “President Trump has put forward an idea today. It’s not an idea that we’ve put forward.”

Liberal senator and former ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma said there were “positive” elements from the President’s comments and he should not be taken literally.

Mr Netanyahu suggested that he was open to Mr Trump’s plan. “He sees a different future for that piece of land,” he said of Gaza.

“It’s worth paying attention to this. We’re talking about it. It’s something that could change history.”

But Hamas said Mr Trump’s proposed relocation was “a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region”.

“Our people in Gaza will not allow for these plans to come to pass,” Hamas said. “What is needed is the end of the occupation and the aggression against our people, not expelling them from their land.”

The Saudi foreign ministry said the kingdom rejected “any violation of the rights of the Palestinian people, whether through settlement, land annexation, or attempts to displace them”.

But Mr Trump said he would persuade Arab countries such as Egypt and Jordan to agree to ­resettle Gazans despite their current opposition to such a plan.

“They say they’re not going to accept,” Mr Trump said. “I say they will.”

Trump officials say the President’s plan to rebuild Gaza could take 10 to 15 years.

Mr Trump did not say how the US would persuade Hamas to allow it to rebuild the enclave or what impact his proposal might have on stage two of the Gaza ceasefire deal that could see the remaining hostages released.

Egypt captured Gaza during the 1948 war and controlled it until Israel seized it after being attacked by Arab nations in 1967. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but launched a war against Hamas in Gaza after the terrorist group slaughtered about 1200 Israelis in Israel on October 7, 2023.