Trump says the Gaza Strip for the US is ‘real estate development for the future’

President Donald Trump reiterated his plans for the United States to have a “long-term ownership position” in the Gaza Strip at some point in the future during an exclusive interview with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier that aired on Monday.

Trump said “great people” in the Middle East could potentially fund the reconstruction process inside the war-torn enclave after Israel ends its war against Hamas, which began after the militant group led a surprise early morning attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 people and taking more than 250 as hostages.

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When asked whether Palestinians would not have a right to return to Gaza, the 47th president answered that they wouldn’t because they “will have much better housing.” 

“Much better – in other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them,” he told Baier on “Special Report.”

A key issue at the heart of Trump’s proposed U.S. takeover of the Gaza Strip is his suggestion of relocating Palestinians to neighboring countries while reconstruction is ongoing, something two U.S. Middle Eastern allies have flatly rejected.

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Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who has repeatedly pushed back against the idea of relocating Palestinians to the Hashemite Kingdom, is expected to discuss the proposal Tuesday when he meets with the president at the White House. 

Egypt announced over the weekend that it will host an emergency Arab summit in Cairo at the end of the month to address the “new and dangerous developments in the Palestinian issue,” according to a statement released by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Trump said he believes he can ultimately make a deal with Egypt and Jordan because the United States gives them billions of dollars in aid.

“There’s practically no building that’s livable in the whole thing, on of the whole Gaza Strip. I say we go in, we knock them all down. We just create some — no more Hamas. There’s no Hamas there. There’s nobody there. We move them into beautiful areas of the Middle East,” he explained.

“We’ll build beautiful communities for the 1.9 million people. We’ll build beautiful communities. Safe communities. [It] could be five, six could be two. But we’ll build safe communities a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is. In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land.”