Why does Trump want to take over Gaza and could he do it?

President Donald Trump's proposition the US could "take over" and "own" Gaza, resettling its colonisation successful the process, has been met with daze and condemnation.

The comments travel arsenic a ceasefire is nether mode betwixt Hamas and Israel, and amid questions astir Gaza's post-conflict future.

The UN estimates astir 2 thirds of buildings determination person been destroyed oregon damaged aft 15 months of fighting.

Trump's vague connection could awesome the largest displacement successful US argumentation connected the Middle East successful decades, upending wide planetary statement connected the request for a Palestinian authorities - comprised of Gaza and the occupied West Bank - to beryllium alongside Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the thought was "worth paying attraction to" but it has been roundly rejected by Arab nations and immoderate US allies.

If Donald Trump is close astir 1 thing, it is that decades of US diplomacy connected Israel and the Palestinians person failed to resoluteness the conflict.

Peace proposals and presidents person travel and gone but the problems person festered. Hamas's onslaught connected Israel connected 7 October 2023 and the warfare successful Gaza it triggered were the hideous results.

Trump made his millions arsenic a spot developer and, with that chapeau on, made a perfectly valid observation: if Gaza is to beryllium rebuilt, from scratch successful immoderate places, it makes small consciousness for hundreds of thousands of civilians to beryllium sheltering successful the rubble.

The task of rebuilding Gaza volition beryllium monumental. Unexploded munitions and mountains of debris person to beryllium removed. Water and powerfulness lines person to beryllium repaired. Schools, hospitals and shops request to beryllium rebuilt.

Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has said that could instrumentality years - and portion that goes on, the Palestinians volition request to spell somewhere.

However, alternatively than exploring ways of keeping them adjacent to home, astir surely successful camps successful the cardinal and confederate parts of the Gaza Strip, Trump says they should beryllium encouraged to permission - permanently.

Trump believes that successful their absence, an idyllic, American-owned "Riviera of the Middle East" volition emergence from the ashes, providing thousands of jobs, opportunities for concern and, ultimately, a spot for "the world's radical to live".

Where to begin?

Even for a president who spent overmuch of his archetypal word upending US Middle East argumentation – including moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognising Israeli sovereignty implicit the occupied Golan Heights – this was an astonishing proposal.

In their wildest imaginations, nary US president ever thought that solving the Israel-Palestinian struggle would impact taking implicit a chunk of Palestinian territory and evicting its population.

• LIVE: World leaders respond to Trump's Gaza comments

To beryllium clear, to bash this by unit would beryllium a sedate usurpation of planetary law.

Some Palestinians would apt take to permission Gaza and rebuild their lives elsewhere. Since October 2023, arsenic galore arsenic 150,000 already have.

But others cannot oregon volition not, either due to the fact that they deficiency the fiscal means to bash truthful oregon due to the fact that their attachment to Gaza – portion of the onshore they telephone Palestine – is simply excessively strong.

Many Gazans are ancestors of radical who fled oregon were driven from their homes successful 1948 during the instauration of the authorities of Israel - a play Palestinians telephone the Nakba, the Arabic connection for catastrophe.

The thought of different volition beryllium excessively achy for galore and they volition cling to their reduced lives successful what remains of Gaza with a fierce determination.

For Palestinians who imagination of a authorities of their own, alongside Israel, the nonaccomplishment of portion of it volition consciousness similar an amputation.

Gaza has been physically separated from the West Bank since 1948. Previous rounds of negotiations, arsenic good arsenic Trump's 2020 "Vision for Peace", included plans for tunnels oregon railways that mightiness nexus the two.

Now Trump is fundamentally telling the Palestinians to springiness up connected Gaza erstwhile and for all.

While helium does not look to beryllium advocating the forced deportation of civilians - which is against planetary instrumentality - Trump is intelligibly encouraging Palestinians to leave.

Palestinian officials person already accused Israel of blocking the proviso of tens of thousands of caravans which could assistance Gazans to enactment enactment successful little damaged parts of the territory portion reconstruction takes spot elsewhere.

The Arab countries who Trump says should judge arsenic galore arsenic 1.8 cardinal Gazan refugees, chiefly Egypt and Jordan, person expressed outrage.

Both person capable problems of their ain without this added burden.

Gaza was occupied by Egypt for 19 years earlier it was seized by Israel successful the 1967 Six Day War.

It is inactive considered occupied by Israel nether planetary law, which Israel disputes. It says the concern ended successful 2005, erstwhile it unilaterally dismantled Jewish settlements and pulled retired its military.

Around 3 quarters of UN members recognise Gaza arsenic portion of a sovereign authorities of Palestine, though the US does not.

Cut disconnected from the extracurricular satellite by fences and an Israeli maritime blockade, it has ne'er felt similar a genuinely autarkic place.

Nothing and nary 1 moves successful oregon retired without Israel's permission, and an planetary airdrome - opened amid overmuch fanfare successful 1998 - was destroyed by Israel successful 2001 during the 2nd Palestinian uprising.

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade connected Gaza, citing information reasons, aft Hamas won Palestinian elections successful 2006 and ejected its rivals from the territory aft aggravated warring the pursuing year.

Long earlier the latest war, Palestinians had travel to respect Gaza arsenic an unfastened prison.

• Israel and the Palestinians: History of the struggle explained

It goes without saying that the US has nary ineligible assertion to the territory and it is not astatine each wide however Trump intends to enforce American rule.

As with his bullish claims astir US power implicit Greenland oregon the Panama Canal, it is not yet wide whether Trump truly means it oregon if the comments correspond an opening, outlandish bargaining presumption up of a bruising acceptable of negotiations connected Gaza's future.

Various plans person been discussed for the post-war governance of Gaza.

In December, the 2 main Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, agreed to signifier a associated committee to oversee its medication - an statement which has truthful acold travel to nothing.

At different times, discussions person focused connected the instauration of an planetary peacekeeping force, perchance made up of troops from Arab countries.

Last month, Reuters reported that the UAE, US and Israel had discussed the enactment of a impermanent medication successful Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority (PA), which already has power successful parts of the West Bank, was acceptable to instrumentality over.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has antecedently publically insisted that the PA volition person nary relation to play successful moving post-war Gaza.

In a constricted sense, American boots are already connected the ground. A US information steadfast has employed astir 100 erstwhile US peculiar forces to antheral a captious checkpoint southbound of Gaza City and surface the vehicles of Palestinians returning to the northbound for weapons.

Egyptian information unit person besides been seen astatine the aforesaid checkpoint.

These could beryllium the first, tentative signs of an expanded planetary - and perchance US-led - beingness successful Gaza.

But that is hardly a US takeover, thing that would necessitate a large-scale subject involution successful the Middle East - the benignant of happening Trump has agelong told voters helium wants to avoid.

Negotiations connected signifier 2 of the two-week-old ceasefire betwixt Israel and Hamas person hardly begun but it is hard to spot however Trump's bombshell remarks volition assistance to beforehand them.

If Hamas feels the extremity merchandise of this full process is simply a depopulated Gaza - devoid not conscionable of Hamas, but of each Palestinians - it whitethorn reason determination is thing to speech astir and clasp connected to the remaining hostages it took connected 7 October 2023.

Netanyahu's critics person accused him of looking for excuses to stroke up the negotiations and resume the war. They are bound to reason that, with these comments, Trump is simply a consenting accomplice.

On the different hand, the Israeli premier minister's right-wing backers person expressed restitution with the US takeover plan, perchance reducing the hazard of furniture resignations and making Netanyahu's contiguous governmental aboriginal look much assured.

In that sense, Trump has fixed Netanyahu a almighty inducement to support the ceasefire going.

Asked whether helium agreed the US should recognise Israeli sovereignty implicit the occupied West Bank, Trump said helium had yet to instrumentality a presumption but that helium would person an announcement to marque successful 4 weeks' time.

That remark has caused alarm among Palestinians, for whom specified an announcement would inevitably beryllium seen arsenic different nail successful the coffin for a two-state solution.

Recognising the legitimacy of Israel's settlements successful the West Bank would beryllium a hugely consequential move. Most of the remainder of the satellite regards them arsenic amerciable nether planetary law, though Israel disputes this.

During erstwhile rounds of bid talks, negotiators recognised that Israel would get to clasp onto ample colony blocs arsenic portion of a last agreement, astir apt successful speech for tiny chunks of Israeli territory.

In 2020, Trump brokered the Abraham Accords, which secured the historical normalisation of relations betwixt Israel and 2 Arab nations, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.

The UAE signed that statement connected the knowing Israel would not annex parts of the West Bank - an knowing which whitethorn present beryllium successful jeopardy.