Boston University

02/06/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 02/07/2025 12:49

Trump Says the United States Should Seize and Develop Gaza. Is That a Good Idea

Trump Says the United States Should Seize and Develop Gaza. Is That a Good Idea?

BU scholar says the idea is dead on arrival-but could it lead to alternative solutions to Mideast peace?

President Trump, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggested that Palestinian Gazans should permanently move to other nations, only to have the White House say they would be relocated just temporarily. Associated Press photo

Voices & Opinion

Trump Says the United States Should Seize and Develop Gaza. Is That a Good Idea?

BU scholar says the idea is dead on arrival-but could it lead to alternative solutions to Mideast peace?

February 6, 2025
0
Twitter Facebook

Two reactions greeted President Trump's declaration Tuesday that "the U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip" and "own it" to foster "great stability" in the region:

He's really serious. Advisors told reporters that Trump has mulled this idea for months-partly because of the carnage in Gaza from the Israel-Hamas war, partly because of craving credit for brokering peace in the region, and partly because of his real estate developer's nose for a deal. ( "I don't want to be a wise guy," he said, "but [the United States would make Gaza] the Riviera of the Middle East.")

It's a bluff, intended as a kick in the pants to Mideast leaders. His own advisors say this was his way of moving the goalposts, throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, and vowing that he could make things worse for the region if they did not come up with a plan on their own.

Even though the White House later pulled back on part of Trump's proposal, saying Palestinian Gazans would be relocated only temporarily, not permanently, it was a proposal that still stunned the world.

What's known for sure is that the idea got one big endorsement-from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, standing at Trump's side during the announcement-and thumbs down from many must-have allies. Egypt and Jordan, where Trump wanted two million Palestinian Gazans relocated, said they wouldn't take them; those two million, who haven't agreed to move, temporarily or otherwise; Saudi Arabia, which Trump said would agree to forego a Palestinian state in Gaza, immediately retorted, no, we won't; and, more quietly, some America First Republican politicians, who worry about sending Americans as targets into a war zone, given the estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Hamas fighters in Gaza.

The "forced resettlement of two million Gazans is mind-bogglingly appalling," says Houchang E. Chehabi, an emeritus professor of international relations and history at Boston University's Pardee School of Global Studies, but "it must, alas, be recognized that it would not be the first time the US government organized or acquiesced to a blatant act of ethnic cleansing." He cites the 19th-century "Trail of Tears" removal of Native Americans from their lands; the 1946 relocation of Bikini Atoll residents to allow for the testing of the atomic bomb; and the 1967-1973 British expulsion of 1,000-plus from the Chagos Islands, in the Indian Ocean, to make way for a US military base.

"Trump is undermining his own credibility," says Mark Storella, a Pardee School professor of the practice of diplomacy. "Some argue that he is engaging in 'madman' tactics-trying to convince others he is capable of doing almost anything. But he backed down on tariffs on Canada and Mexico. He has been rebuffed on taking Greenland and the Panama Canal. Now he has made a proposal to take over Gaza that is going down in flames, too.

Trump is undermining his own credibility. Some argue that he is engaging in 'madman' tactics-trying to convince others he is capable of doing almost anything.
Mark Storella

"Trump is only three weeks into his presidency, and he is already debasing his credibility, as a madman or even a serious person in international affairs. As others call his bluffs, there is a danger Trump may feel compelled not just to say reckless things, but also to do reckless things, just to restore his credibility. That would itself be dangerous."

Storella has held several diplomatic posts, including ambassador to Zambia and deputy assistant secretary of state for population, refugees, and migration. He gave BU Today his analysis of Trump's Gaza utterances.

Q&A

with Mark Storella

BU Today: Given Trump's past diplomacy and policies regarding the Middle East, do you believe he sincerely thinks US ownership is a good idea for Gaza?

Trump prides himself on thinking outside the box. But here he is not just thinking outside the box, he is thinking outside even his own box. Trump's idea of US ownership of Gaza runs contrary to the America First credo of avoiding unnecessary entanglements and nation-building adventures. Congress and the American people have no appetite for new interventions in the Middle East. It is not clear that he has thought this through.

BU Today: Might his proposal actually be a gambit to achieve another goal in the region, and if so, what do you think he's angling for? Or, as some suggest, does he actually see it as a real estate deal, given his background in that field?

Trump's leading foreign policy success in his first term was the Abraham Accords, which suffered from the terrible flaw of not addressing Palestinian concerns. Now Trump has said, "You're talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing." He is pressuring other countries to take in Palestinians from Gaza. Many have already said that would be ethnic cleansing.

If this is a negotiating tactic, it seems designed to put even more pressure on the Palestinians, but it is not clear to what end. Experience should have shown Trump that pressure on the Palestinians alone will not produce positive results. Of course, Trump may just be reverting to his real estate developer roots; he seems to see Gaza as a new Atlantic City.

BU Today: Given the opposition of the Palestinians, the countries Trump wants to send them to, the Saudis, and some at home in his own base, what are the odds of a US takeover actually occurring?

The fact that the people most affected by this idea-the Palestinians-apparently were not consulted and flat-out reject the notion makes this proposal a nonstarter. The proposal itself is dead on announcement. Whether it leads to something else is yet to be seen.

Explore Related Topics:

  • Share this story
  • 0 Comments Add

Share

Trump Says the United States Should Seize and Develop Gaza. Is That a Good Idea?

Copy URL: Copy

  • Rich Barlow

    Senior Writer

    Rich Barlow is a senior writer at BU Today and Bostonia magazine. Perhaps the only native of Trenton, N.J., who will volunteer his birthplace without police interrogation, he graduated from Dartmouth College, spent 20 years as a small-town newspaper reporter, and is a former Boston Globe religion columnist, book reviewer, and occasional op-ed contributor. Profile

Comments & Discussion

Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.

Post a comment. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked *

Comment* view guidelines
Name *
Email *
Submit Comment

Latest from BU Today