Donald Trump says he wants US ‘to buy and own Gaza’


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US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he was committed to America buying and owning Gaza, but could allow parts of the land to be rebuilt by states in the Middle East.

While travelling on Air Force One to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, Mr Trump told reporters he wants to make sure that Hamas “doesn't move back” to control the enclave.

“There’s nothing to move back into,” he added. "The place is a demolition site. The remainder will be demolished. Everything’s demolished."

Mr Trump also said he was open to the possibility of allowing some Palestinian refugees into the US, but would consider such requests on a case-by-case basis.

Ezzat El Rashq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, condemned Mr Trump's comments, saying Palestinians will foil all displacement plans. The US President also said he was losing patience with the ceasefire deal after seeing video of the latest release of hostages by Hamas.

“They look like Holocaust survivors. They were in horrible condition. They were emaciated,” he said. “I don't know how much longer we can take that … at some point we're going to lose our patience."

Mr Trump said the Israeli hostages are in "really bad shape".

“I know we have a deal … they dribble in and keep dribbling in,” Mr Trump added.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Fox News that Mr Trump was to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and possibly Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Mr Trump is also to receive Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday, officials confirmed.

The President's plan to redevelop Gaza and remove more than two million Palestinians, made last week at a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, caused international outrage and angered the Arab world. It made it even more challenging for Saudi Arabia to contemplate establishing ties with Israel.

After his return from Washington and in an address to his cabinet, Mr Netanyahu on Sunday praised Mr Trump's proposals, calling it “revolutionary”.

“President Trump came with a completely different, much better vision for Israel – a revolutionary, creative approach that we are currently discussing,” he said.

Egypt and Jordan dismissed Mr Trump’s call to resettle 1.8 million Palestinians from Gaza and for the US to take ownership of the enclave, but he claims they would eventually accept it.

“President Trump is due to meet major, major Arab leaders, first and foremost the King of Jordan and the President of Egypt and I think also the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as well,” Mr Herzog said about Mr Trump's recently unveiled proposal.

“These are partners that must be listened to, they must be discussed with. We have to honour their feelings as well and see how we build a plan that is sustainable for the future.”

In a strongly worded statement on Sunday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry accused Israel of “continuous crimes” and “ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinian people after comments made by Mr Netanyahu to an Israeli TV channel that “the Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia. They have a lot of land over there”.

In the same statement, Saudi Arabia rejected Mr Netanyahu's comment that the establishment of relations was “going to happen”, repeating its insistence there would be no ties without a Palestinian state.

In the UAE, Khalifa Al Marar, Minister of State, expressed his country's full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and said the kingdom's sovereignty is a “red line”.

Results

2.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m

Winner Lamia, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.

3pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m

Winner Jap Al Afreet, Elione Chaves, Irfan Ellahi.

3.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m

Winner MH Tawag, Bernardo Pinheiro, Elise Jeanne.

4pm Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 2,000m

Winner Skygazer, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

4.30pm The Ruler of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh250,000 1,700m

Winner AF Kal Noor, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.

5pm Sharjah Marathon (PA) Dh70,000 2,700m

Winner RB Grynade, Bernardo Pinheiro, Eric Lemartinel.

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now 

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Company%20profile
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THE%20SPECS
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COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: SimpliFi

Started: August 2021

Founder: Ali Sattar

Based: UAE

Industry: Finance, technology

Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals

Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

Normcore explained

Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.

Scoreline

Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan

 Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’

Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books

Updated: February 10, 2025, 3:36 PM