Middle East Tensions Highlights: Trump Officials Try to Backpedal Gaza Takeover Plan Amid global alarm, top administration officials sought to soften elements of President Trump's proposal to force Palestinians out of the territory and take it over. Experts said the plan would violate international law.
Top Trump administration officials on Wednesday walked back parts of President Trump's plan to "take over" Gaza and drive out the Palestinian population, insisting that he had not made a commitment to use U.S. troops to clear the territory and that any relocation of Palestinians would be short-term.
Mr. Trump's brazen proposal to move as many as two million Palestinians out of Gaza and seize and redevelop it as a U.S. territory met with immediate opposition on Wednesday from key American partners and officials around the world, with many expressing support for a Palestinian state, and experts calling the idea a breach of international law. Top administration officials sought to soften it less than 24 hours after Mr. Trump floated the plan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, called President Trump’s bombshell proposal that the United States take over Gaza to rebuild it “the first good idea” for the enclave that he has heard.
READ MORE: Trump officials try to walk back president's comments
Netanyahu said Trump hadn't suggested American troops fight Hamas or that the United States would pay to rebuild Gaza, reiterating talking points made by members of the Trump administration on Wednesday after the proposal drew widespread rebukes.
When asked by Hannity if all hell would have broken out if the truce wasn't reached in Gaza before Trump's inauguration last month, Netanyahu responded that "Donald Trump did, with great effect, mobilize his influence, which ultimately achieved the hostages' release".
Here is a look inside Trump’s hastily written proposal to ‘own’ Gaza.
When President Trump announced his plan for the United States to own Gaza on Tuesday, he made even the high-ranking members of his White House and government raise an eyebrow in shock.
While his declaration sounded formal and considered — he read the plan off a sheet of paper — his administration had done little more than basic planning to test the viability of the proposal, according to four people who were briefed on the discussions, who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Here’s what to know about the Trump family’s deals in the Middle East.
As President Trump pushes a new plan to take control of Gaza and clear out an area that once was home to an estimated two million residents, he is advocating bringing the United States much more deeply into a region where his family has a growing collection of real estate and business interests.
No part of the world is more important to the expansion of numerous Trump family enterprises than the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Israel. When considering both Mr. Trump's and his son-in-law Jared Kushner's portfolios, this is a fact. Here's a review of the family's interests in the region and what Mr. Trump proposed for Gaza.
What Trump proposed for Gaza
Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that the United States should take control of Gaza and expel the entire Palestinian population from the battered seaside enclave permanently.
Mr. Trump said resettling Palestinians would be like his New York real estate projects that made his career. "If we could find the right piece of land, or numerous pieces of land, and build them some really nice places with plenty of money in the area, that's for sure," he said. "I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza.
“Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land,” Mr. Trump added, “developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.”
Mr. Trump’s aides on Wednesday walked back some of his comments, with the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, saying that “the president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza.”
Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai: Real estate of the Trumps
The past three years saw the Middle East become the new hot spot for the Trump family in terms of new international deals in real estate. These are mostly known as branding deals, which put together earn tens of millions for the family as fees in return for the name's use on the right that helps boost up the sales in luxury condo, golf, and hotels.
Recent deals have been inked with a Saudi-based real estate firm named Dar Al Arkan to build high-rise luxury apartments, golf courses, or hotels in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai.
"We are pleased to further solidify our strong relationship with the Trump Organization," said Ziad El Chaar, of Dar Al Arkan's subsidiary, last year, when announcing one of those deals.
The project is in Oman, which is the farthest along. In this case, it involves the government of Oman itself because this owns the land on which the Trump golf course and hotel will be situated.
Although the opening of the resort destination is at least three years away, the Trump Organization has already made at least $7.5 million from the Oman deal, financial reports for the past two years show. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. visited Oman this summer to check the project's progress, visiting the site with Yousef Al Shelash, the chairman of Dar Al Arkan.
Image
0 Comments