Trump says Palestinians displaced under his Gaza takeover plan would not be allowed to return

US President says he would 'own' the Gaza Strip and thinks of plans as a 'real estate development' project

Donald Trump said Palestinians would not be able to return to Gaza 'because they're going to have much better housing'. Reuters

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US President Donald Trump has said that the roughly two million Palestinians who would be displaced under his plan to “own” Gaza would not have the right to return after the coastal enclave is rebuilt.

Mr Trump made the comments in an interview with Fox News, portions of which were released on Monday. His statement contradicts earlier claims by his administration that the displacement would be temporary.

“We will build communities for the 1.9 million people, safe communities, 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,” the President said.

Asked by the interviewer, Bret Baier, if Palestinians would be allowed to return after reconstruction is completed, Mr Trump said: “No, they wouldn't, because they're going to have much better housing, much better. I'm talking about building a permanent place for them.” He added: “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.”

Mr Trump first floated the idea of displacing Palestinians from Gaza last week during the official visit of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington. He said he would turn the enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

The proposal comes amid a fragile pause in the 16-month war in Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of more than 48,000 Palestinians. Israeli strikes have reduced most houses and infrastructure in the territory to rubble. Mr Trump said it would take 10 to 15 years to rebuild it.

The President's relocation plan was met with shock and rejection from Arab and world leaders as well as the UN and Palestinians, who have said such a move would be a grave injustice and amount to ethnic cleansing. Mr Trump said Palestinians would be sent to Jordan and Egypt, though both countries have rejected the proposal. In the interview on Monday, he implied he would leverage the billions in foreign aid to the two US allies to persuade them to comply with his plan for Gaza.

“I think I could make a deal with Jordan, I think I could make a deal with Egypt,” he said. “We give them billions and billions of dollars a year.” Jordan's King Abdullah II is set to meet Mr Trump at the White House on Tuesday, where they are expected to discuss plans for Gaza. Egypt's President President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is expected to visit Washington next week, though his trip has not yet been officially announced.