President Trump suggests US take ‘long-term ownership’ of Gaza Strip

• President Donald Trump called for the U.S. to have “long-term ownership” of the Gaza Strip. It comes as Israel and Hamas are working to hold a ceasefire after more than a year of war.
• It’s the latest of several pushes the president has made to incorporate international land into the U.S.
• Trump did not rule out a U.S. military presence in Gaza and did not offer an option for Palestinians who wished to stay. Trump said instead that they “have no alternative” but to leave.

President Donald Trump suggested that the U.S. should have a presence in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas War. He made the comments Tuesday, Feb. 4, while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump called for the U.S. to own the land. He also said the two million Palestinians who live there “have no alternative” but to leave Gaza. Trump did not lay out an option allowing Palestinians who wish to stay to do so.

“I do see a long-term ownership position, and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East,” Trump said. “And everybody I have spoken to –– this was not a decision made lightly –– everybody I have spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land.”

Leaders in Egypt and Jordan have rejected Trump’s calls to resettle Palestinians.

It’s the latest of several pushes President Trump has made to expand U.S. control of land. Since taking office, he has suggested incorporating Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal Zone into the United States. All of those proposals have received pushback from local leaders.

The president said he may send U.S. troops to the region if he believes it is necessary. That would be a reversal of promises during his first term and on the campaign trail to wind down U.S. military presence outside the U.S. and end what he called “forever wars.”

In his first term in office, President Trump tried unsuccessfully to significantly draw down the number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He also sought to ensure NATO members paid more of the alliance’s defense spending as part of an effort to limit how much the U.S. spent on defending areas outside its borders.

Trump’s calls for U.S. expansion have sparked fears of war, including in Panama, where the president has threatened “powerful” action.

In Gaza, the president’s suggestion could complicate the current ceasefire that’s holding between Israel and Hamas, as Hamas and the Palestinian people seek to govern themselves. Meanwhile, Israeli government officials would like to incorporate more Palestinian land into Israel.