House Speaker Mike Johnson backed President Donald Trump on Wednesday, one day after he announced plans for the U.S. to “take over” the Gaza Strip and drew controversy for calling for the resettlement of Palestinians from the war-torn enclave—though the White House says U.S. troops haven’t been committed to the effort.
Timeline
- Feb. 5, 2 p.m. EST: Johnson called the proposal “a bold move” and said to do nothing in the Gaza Strip would leave open doors for terrorist organizations to “eliminate Israel as a state.” He asked people to “withhold judgment” until a more formal plan is announced.
- Feb. 5, 1:30 p.m. EST: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president’s plan for Gaza has not been fleshed out and was “written … as he revealed it to the world.” She said “the president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza” and said that any displacement of Palestinians from the area—which has been likened to ethnic cleansing—would be temporary.
- “The president has made it clear that they need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza for the rebuilding of this effort,” Leavitt said. “Again, it’s a demolition site right now. It’s not a livable place for any human being. And I think it’s actually quite evil to suggest that people should live in such dire conditions.”
- Feb. 5, 1:30 p.m. EST: Secretary of State Marco Rubio made comments suggesting Trump was proposing to help clear out and rebuild the area, not take ownership: “The only thing President Trump has done — very generously, in my view — is offer the United States’ willingness to step in, clear the debris, clean the place up from all the destruction… so that then people can move back in,” Rubio said.
- Rubio also tweeted, “Make Gaza Beautiful Again.”
- Feb. 5, 12:30 p.m. EST: Israel announced that it would withdraw from its participation in the U.N. Human Rights Council.
- Feb. 5, 12 p.m. EST: The United Nations spokesman Stéphane Dujarric did not directly comment on Trump’s plan but said that “any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
- Feb. 5, 8 a.m. EST: Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told Fox Business the president’s plan to relocate residents of the Gaza Strip is a necessary step in the rebuilding process and the administration has been asking leaders in the region about the proposal: “We’ve talked to the Saudis, we’ve talked to the Egyptians, we’ve talked to the Jordanians. Of course, we have Bibi Netanyahu here. What’s the plan?” he said.
- Feb. 5, 7:30 a.m. EST: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said the U.S. has “no business” occupying the Gaza Strip, adding, “I thought we voted for America First.”
- Feb. 5, 7:30 a.m. EST: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for the United Nations to step in to “protect the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights,” and said that Trump’s plan would be “a serious violation of international law.”
- Feb. 5, 7:30 a.m. EST: Badr Abdelatty, the foreign minister of Egypt—one of the countries that Trump has proposed as a site for the resettlement of Palestinians—met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa and said Cairo was eager for the Palestinian Authority to “assume its duties in the Gaza Strip as part of the occupied Palestinian territories.”
- While Abdelatty’s statement didn’t directly address Trump’s remarks, he expressed his country’s support for the “legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people” and called for the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
- Feb. 5, 6:30 a.m. EST: Amid the international condemnation, Trump’s proposal drew support from far-right members of Israel’s ruling coalition government. The country’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, hailed the proposal as “the true answer” to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and added, “Those responsible for the horrific massacre on our land will face the permanent loss of their own.”
- Feb. 5, 5:30 a.m. EST: Several key U.S. allies, including the U.K., France, Germany, and Australia, have also dismissed the suggestion to relocate Palestinians while reaffirming their support for a two-state solution.
- Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday, U.K. Foreign Minister David Lammy said: “We’ve always been clear in our belief that we must see two states. We must see Palestinians live and prosper in their homelands in Gaza and the West Bank.”
- The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it opposes “any forced displacement of the Palestinian population of Gaza, which would constitute a serious violation of international law, an attack on the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians.”
- The statement added that France will “continue to push for the implementation of the two-state solution, the only thing that can guarantee long-term peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians.”
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his country “supports, on a bipartisan basis, a two-state solution in the Middle East,” but stopped short of directly commenting on Trump’s remarks, saying: “I’ve said before that I don’t intend to have a running commentary on the president of the United States’ statements.”
- German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said: “A displacement of the Palestinian civilian population from Gaza would not just be unacceptable and against international law. This would also lead to new suffering and new hatred…There must be no solution over the heads of the Palestinians.”
- Feb. 5, 5:00 a.m. EST: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan rejected Trump’s proposal, saying any plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza is “unacceptable” and even considering such a thing is “wrong.”
- Feb. 5, 4:30 a.m. EST: During the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s daily press briefing on Wednesday, spokesperson Lin Jian said “we oppose the forced displacement and relocation of the population in Gaza and hope that all relevant parties will take the ceasefire…an opportunity to push for a two-state solution.”
- Feb. 5, 4:10 a.m. EST: Hussein al-Sheikh, the Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (seen by many as the successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas) remarked on X that the Palestinian leadership “affirms its firm position that the two-state solution, in accordance with international legitimacy and international law, is the guarantee of security, stability and peace.”
- The statement added that the Palestinian leadership rejected “all calls for the displacement of the Palestinian people from their homeland. We were born here, we have lived here and we will remain here.”
- Feb. 5, 4:00 a.m. EST: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement rejecting “any infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, land annexation, or attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land.”
- The statement added that the Saudi government’s position was “unwavering…non-negotiable and not subject to compromises” and said the country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, has emphasized that Saudi Arabia will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without the establishment of an “independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
- Feb. 5, 3:15 a.m. EST: Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, said the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to other countries, as suggested by Trump, would be tantamount to “ethnic cleansing,” the first politician to make such a declaration.
- Feb. 4, 8:00 p.m. EST: Trump said “we’ll own it” when discussing the future of Gaza, and suggested the U.S. could dispose of active bombs still in the area, “level the site” and “create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing” for “the people of the area,” though it is unclear what people he was referring to.
- The president also said Gaza should “not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people,” suggesting Palestinians from Gaza should be relocated to other countries.
- The president, who made the comments at a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, added the U.S. would take up a “long-term ownership position” of Gaza, though he did not answer a question about what legal standing would allow the U.S. to take over the region.
What Did Trump Say About Resettlement Of Palestinians?
Trump’s comments came just a few hours after he told reporters at the White House that Palestinians should be resettled in Jordan, Egypt or other countries and referred to Gaza as a “demolition site” (Jordan and Egypt have rejected the idea of Palestinian resettlement from Gaza). Trump did not provide finer details about his proposed “economic development” in Gaza and did not clarify who would benefit from the “unlimited numbers of jobs” he claimed it will produce.
How Have Rights Groups Reacted?
Paul O’Brien, the executive director at Amnesty International US, tweeted that: “Removing all Palestinians from Gaza is tantamount to destroying them as a people. Gaza is their home. Gaza’s death & destruction is a result of the gov of Israel killing civilians by the thousands, often with US bombs.” Council on American-Islamic Relations’ National Executive Director Nihad Awad said: “If the Palestinian people were ever somehow forcibly expelled from Gaza, this crime against humanity would complete the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians on their own land, spark widespread conflict, put the final nail in the coffin of international law, and permanently scar our nation’s international image.”
Crucial Quote
“I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable,” Trump said of the region’s future, calling it the “riviera of the Middle East.”
What To Watch For
Trump did not rule out sending American troops to Gaza when asked about the possibility. “If it’s necessary, we’ll do that—we’re going to take over,” he said.
Tangent
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former senior advisor, said last year during the conflict in Gaza that the area’s waterfront property “could be very valuable, if people would focus on building up livelihoods.”
Key Background
Trump said Gaza “is not a place for people to be living” and referenced the widespread destruction in the region without directly addressing Israel’s military campaign there. The president has proposed Palestinian resettlement in nearby countries, though Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have resisted plans to move refugees out of Gaza. The five countries have instead pushed for a two-state solution including the establishment of a Palestinian state. In addition to Gaza, Trump has proposed making places such as Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada a part of the U.S.
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