World leaders react to Trump’s call for US to take over Gaza

Palestinians walk past the rubble of buildings and houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, January 22, 2025. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday that the US would take over the Gaza Strip after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere has sparked sharp reactions from officials and analysts.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

Abbas said the Palestinians will not relinquish their land, rights, and sacred sites, and that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the land of the State of Palestine, along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Palestine Liberation Organization

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary General Hussein Sheikh said on Wednesday the PLO rejected all calls for the displacement of the Palestinian people from their homeland, after US President Donald Trump said Palestinians in the Gaza Strip could be resettled in neighbouring countries.

“The Palestinian leadership affirms its firm position that the two-state solution, in accordance with international legitimacy and international law, is the guarantee of security, stability and peace,” the PLO official said on X.

The PLO is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri

He condemned the proposal as an attempt to force Palestinians from their homeland.

“We consider them a recipe for generating chaos and tension in the region because the people of Gaza will not allow such plans to pass.”
Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia rejects any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that its stance towards the Palestinians is not negotiable.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has affirmed the kingdom’s position in ‘a clear and explicit manner’ that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances, the statement said.
Turkey

Trump’s comments about a plan to take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip are “unacceptable,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.

Speaking to the state-owned Anadolu news agency, he said Turkey would review the steps it had taken against Israel - cutting off trade and recalling its ambassador - if the killing of Palestinians stopped and their conditions changed.
Egypt

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for swift reconstruction of Gaza Wednesday without the displacement of Palestinians from the territory after a surprise proposal from US President Donald Trump to take it over.

In talks with Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa in Cairo, the two men agreed on “the importance of moving forward with early recovery projects... at an accelerated pace... without the Palestinians leaving the Gaza Strip, especially with their commitment to their land and refusal to leave it,” the Egyptian foreign ministry said.
Jordan

Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Wednesday rejected “any attempts” to take control of the Palestinian territories and displace its people.

In a meeting with Abbas, King Abdullah urged efforts “to stop settlement activities and reject any attempts to annex lands and displace Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, stressing the need to establish the Palestinians on their land,” a statement said.
China

China opposes forced transfer targeting the people of Gaza Strip, the country’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday in response to US President Donald Trump’s proposal for the US to take over the region.

China hopes all parties will take ceasefire and post-conflict governance as an opportunity to bring the Palestinian issue back on the right track of political settlement based on the two-state solution, a ministry spokesperson said in a regular news briefing.
Russia

Russia believes a settlement in the Middle East is only possible on the basis of a two-state solution, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said he would like the United States to take over and redevelop the Gaza Strip.

Trump, who has previously proposed the permanent resettlement of more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries, said Gaza could become “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
France

France rejected on Wednesday comments by US President Donald Trump suggesting the United States could take control of Gaza and Palestinians could be displaced elsewhere saying it would violate international law and destabilize the region.

“France reiterates its opposition to any forced displacement of the Palestinian population of Gaza, which would constitute a serious violation of international law, an attack on the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians, but also a major obstacle to the two-state solution and a major destabilizing factor for our close partners Egypt and Jordan as well as for the entire region,” Foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said in a statement.

Lemoine added that the future of Gaza should be in the context of a future Palestinian state and should not be controlled by a third country.

UK

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Wednesday said that Palestinians should be able to “live and prosper” in Gaza and the West Bank, hitting back at Trump’s proposal to take over the Gaza Strip.

“We must see Palestinians able to live and prosper in their homelands in Gaza, in the West Bank. That is what we want to get to,” Lammy said at a press conference in Ukraine's capital Kyiv.
Brazil

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday rejected US President Donald Trump’s proposal to take over the Gaza Strip, and dismissed his expansionis ambitions and tariff threats against trading partners as “bravado.”

“No country, no matter how important, can fight the entire world all the time,” the Brazilian leader said in an interview with local radio stations when asked about Trump.

“It makes no sense ... Where would Palestinians live? This is something incomprehensible to any human being,” Lula said, defending a two-state solution and repeating earlier denunciations of Israel's military action in Gaza as “genocide.”
United Nations

UN rights chief Volker Turk insisted Wednesday that deporting people from occupied territory was strictly prohibited, after US President Donald Trump’s shock proposal for the United States to take over Gaza and resettle its people.

“The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law and must be protected by all states, as the International Court of Justice recently underlined afresh. Any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited,” Turk said in a statement.
Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy

Murphy strongly rejected Trump’s remarks, calling them dangerous.

“He's totally lost it,” he posted on X. “A US invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of US troops and decades of war in the Middle East. It’s like a bad, sick joke.”
Democratic Representative Jake Auchincloss

Auchincloss criticized the proposal as reckless and politically motivated.

“The proposal is reckless and unreasonable,” he told NewsNation, warning that it could jeopardize the second phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

He also questioned Trump’s motivations, suggesting a personal financial interest in Gaza's future.

“As always, when Trump proposes a policy item, there is a nepotistic, self-serving connection.”

Referring to Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, he added:

“They want to turn this into resorts.”
Jon Alterman, Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies

Alterman expressed skepticism about the feasibility of Trump’s plan, noting the historical context of Palestinian displacement.

“Many Gazans descended from Palestinians who fled parts of present-day Israel and have never been able to return to their previous homes. I’m skeptical many would be willing to leave even a shattered Gaza.”