Trump Declares the U.S. Will Take Ownership of Gaza, Build a ‘Riviera’; Palestinians Will Relocate

Feb. 4, 2025 (EIRNS)—President Donald Trump, at a joint White House press conference this evening with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that the United States will “take over the Gaza Strip,” and build it up to what he said can even be, “the Riviera of the Middle East.” He motivated the concept by reporting that he has given this thought for months, talked to people and nations in the region, and this way, there can be stability.

He prefaced his announcement by speaking of why and how the 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza will relocate. He said that Gaza right now is a “demolition zone,” and that the only reason people have stayed there, or would continue to stay there, is that they see no alternative. However, he declared, new “beautiful” places can be built for them in other countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, which, though they have refused so far, they can reconsider and change their view. There can be one big place built for the Palestinians to go to, or several, even 12, and in different countries. “The King” and “the General” can reconsider.

In response to several questions from reporters, Trump elaborated on his vision. He said, “I see a long-term ownership possible,” by the U.S. for the Gaza Strip. There will be thousands of jobs. Who will live there? “People of the world.”

Trump wins both the prize for showmanship, and also for retro-unilateralism, just when history is on the side of a new world architecture for national sovereignty, international collaboration, and mutual economic betterment. There’s a new multilateralism, however it might be defined. When asked about what happens to the Palestinians for a two-state, or one-state resolution, Trump said the question no longer matters.

Preceding tonight’s declaration, Trump signed two executive orders today, related to the crisis situation in the region. One of them focuses on bringing “maximum pressure”—as Trump described it—on Iran. The other terminates—not merely suspends—U.S. funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which has been the lifeline agency for Palestinians for decades, for schooling, medical care, food and humanitarian aid, wherever Palestinians are located in the region. U.S. funding is also ended for the UN Human Rights Council, with the charge that it is anti-Semitic. U.S. funding for UNESCO is to be reviewed.

The current crisis of means of existence of Palestinians in the region was not addressed at all at tonight’s media event, as Prime Minister Netanyahu stood smugly next to Trump. Netanyahu has had meetings in Washington for the past two days, and intends to be on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Feb. 6 for Congressional office meetings.

Just at the time of Trump’s dramatic unilateral intervention, come certain initiatives by Russia and China for multilateralism. Yesterday at the UN in New York City, Chinese Ambassador to the UN Fu Cong outlined the agenda for the UN Security Council, chaired by China for February, stressing that the Middle East will be a priority, in the context of collaboration for resolution. “As the world enters a very turbulent period, the open debate aims to encourage countries to revisit the original aspirations of the [United Nations]” he said. A high-level UNSC meeting on “Practicing Multilateralism” is scheduled for Feb. 18, to be chaired by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, to which foreign ministers and senior officials from the 15 UNSC member nations are invited, and guest nations as well.

Today Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke on the sidelines of the 14th Middle East Conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Moscow. He reviewed the region in depth, saying, “The Middle East is not a playground. It should not be regarded in this light. The key to the many conflicts there is the creation of a Palestinian state. Numerous resolutions to this effect have been adopted at the UN General Assembly and Security Council.” Also today, Lavrov’s article appears in Russia in Global Affairs magazine, headlined, “The UN Charter Should Become the Legal Foundation of a Multipolar World.”

Be sure to watch or to read the Feb. 5 exchange “Breaking Through the Fog of Unipolar Narratives” between Schiller Institute leader Helga Zepp-LaRouche and Larry C. Johnson, intelligence expert, former CIA officer and U.S. State Department planner and advisor.