Trump: Palestinians will not have the right of return under plan to take over Gaza

(Patria) - U.S. President Donald Trump said that Palestinians in Gaza will not have the right to return under his plan for American "ownership" of the war-torn territory, contradicting other officials in his administration who had claimed Trump was only calling for temporary relocation of its population, AP reported.

Less than a week after unveiling his plan for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and turn it into a "Middle East Riviera," Trump told FOX News in an interview, "No, they would not" when asked if Palestinians in Gaza would have the right to return to the territory.

"We’ll build safe communities, a little ways away from where they are, where all this danger is," Trump said.

"In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent."

Arab countries have sharply criticized Trump’s proposal, and Trump’s latest words were released a day before he was to host Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House. In addition to concerns about undermining the long-term goals of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Egypt and Jordan have privately expressed security concerns about accepting large numbers of additional refugees into their countries even temporarily.

Trump’s comments risked undermining an already fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza after fifteen months of war, with the existing framework for negotiations calling for massive humanitarian and reconstruction aid for civilians in Gaza.

Following Trump’s initial comments last week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that Trump only wanted Palestinians to relocate from Gaza “temporarily” and for a “temporary” period to allow for the removal of rubble, disposal of unexploded ordnance and reconstruction.

Trump last week did not rule out deploying U.S. troops to help secure the territory, but at the same time insisted that no U.S. funds would go toward paying for Gaza’s reconstruction, raising fundamental questions about the nature of his plan.

Egypt reiterated yesterday its rejection of the transfer of Palestinians from their territories in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, warning that such proposals threaten the "human foundations" in the Middle East.

In a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital is the basis for "comprehensive and just peace" in the region.

They state that Egypt rejects any violation of the Palestinian "right to self-determination... and independence" and "supports the right of return for Palestinian refugees who were forced to leave their homeland," referring to the hundreds of thousands who were forced to leave their homes in present-day Israel during the 1948 war.

A senior Hamas official called Trump’s latest statements about American ownership of Gaza “absurd.” Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said these comments “reflect a deep ignorance of Palestine and the region.”

In comments Hamas released early Monday, he said Trump’s approach to the Palestinian issue would fail. “Dealing with the Palestinian issue with a real estate mentality is a recipe for failure. Our Palestinian people will foil all plans for transfer and deportation.”