Trump vows to take over Gaza, create 'Riviera of the Middle East'

President Donald Trump said the U.S. would take over war-ravaged Gaza and create a "Riviera of the Middle East" after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, shattering decades of U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and drawing regional condemnation.

The shock move drew swift condemnation from regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia which Trump hopes will establish ties with Israel.

An official from Palestinian militant group Hamas, which ruled the Gaza Strip before fighting Israel in a brutal war there, said Trump's statement about taking over the enclave were "absurd."

"Trump's remarks about his desire to control Gaza are ridiculous and absurd, and any ideas of this kind are capable of igniting the region," Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

Trump unveiled his surprise plan without providing specifics, at a joint press conference on Tuesday with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too...we're going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it'll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of," Trump told reporters, sounding like the real estate developer he once was.

The announcement followed Trump's shock proposal earlier on Tuesday for the permanent resettlement of the more than two million Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries, calling the enclave - where the first phase of a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal is in effect - a "demolition site."

The U.S. taking a direct stake in Gaza would run counter to longtime policy in Washington and for much of the international community, which has held that Gaza would be part of a future Palestinian state that includes the occupied West Bank.

Trump can expect allies and foes alike to strongly oppose any U.S. takeover of Gaza, and his proposal raises questions whether Middle East power Saudi Arabia would be willing to join a renewed U.S.-brokered push for a historic normalization of relations with U.S. ally Israel.

Saudi Arabia, also a key U.S. ally, rejects any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia said it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state, contradicting U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Riyadh was not demanding a Palestinian homeland when he said the U.S. wants to take over the Gaza Strip.

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.

Trump said that he plans to visit Gaza, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trump did not say when he plans to go on such a trip.

Netanyahu, referred to a few times by Trump by his nickname, “Bibi,” would not be drawn into discussing the proposal in depth other than to praise Trump for trying a new approach.

The Israeli leader, whose military had engaged in more than a year of fierce fighting with Hamas militants in Gaza, said Trump was "thinking outside the box with fresh ideas" and was "showing willingness to puncture conventional thinking."

Reuters