President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that his proposal for Gaza would not require the deployment of U.S. soldiers, just days after suggesting that the United States could “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip.
“No soldiers by the U.S. would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!” Trump wrote in an early morning post on his Truth Social platform.
Earlier in the week, during a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump had announced that “the U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip.”
“We will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” he said during a press conference, eliciting audible gasps from the audience. However, he provided few details on how the U.S. would manage the relocation of over two million Palestinians or govern the war-torn territory.
By Wednesday, his administration seemed to walk back the proposal following widespread criticism from Palestinians, Arab governments, and global leaders.
Trump’s Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, clarified that the idea “was not meant to be hostile,” while the White House emphasized that there were no plans to send U.S. troops to the region.
In his Thursday morning post, Trump elaborated that “the Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting.” He also claimed that Palestinians “would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region.”
