Hamas rejects Trump's proposal to take over Gaza, move Palestinians

Hamas lashed out Wednesday at President Donald Trump's shock proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its people in other countries, seemingly whether they want to leave or not.

Trump made his announcement to audible gasps during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he was hosting at the White House for talks.

In a proposal that lacked details on how he would move out more than two million Palestinians or control Gaza, Trump said he would make the war-battered enclave "unbelievable" by removing unexploded bombs and rubble, and economically redeveloping it.

"The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it," Trump said.

He said there was support from the "highest leadership" in the Middle East and upped pressure on Egypt and Jordan to take the Gazans -- despite both governments flatly rejecting the idea.

Suggesting "long-term ownership" by the United States, Trump said his idea would make it "the Riviera of the Middle East. This could be something that could be so magnificent."

Hamas, which seized sole control of Gaza in 2007, rejected the proposal, branding it a "racist" idea.

"The American racist stance aligns with the Israeli extreme right's position in displacing our people and eliminating our cause," Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou said in a statement.

Netanyahu, who has vowed to bring home hostages taken by Hamas and to crush its capabilities, said Trump's plan could "change history" and was worth "paying attention to."

Netanyahu was making the first visit by a foreign leader to the White House since Trump's return to power, for what were billed as talks on securing a second phase of the truce.

AFP