Donald Trump has vowed that the US would ?take over? war ravaged Gaza and ?own it?, effectively endorsing the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, in an announcement shocking even by the standards of his norm-shattering presidency.

Trump, who has previously threatened Greenland and Panama and suggested that Canada should become the 51st state, added Gaza to his expansionist agenda, claiming that it could become the ?Riviera of the Middle East? and declined to rule out sending US troops to make it happen.

?The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative,? the president told a joint press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday evening. ?It?s right now a demolition site. This is just a demolition site. Virtually every building is down.?

Arguing that Palestinians could live out their lives in ?peace and harmony? elsewhere, Trump continued: ?The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We?ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.

?If it?s necessary, we?ll do that, we?re going to take over that piece, 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.?

The announcement followed a surprise proposal from Trump, a property developer, earlier on Tuesday for the permanent resettlement of the two million Palestinians who live in Gaza to neighbouring countries.

He called for Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states to take in Palestinians from Gaza, saying they had no alternative but to abandon the coastal strip, which must be rebuilt after nearly 16 months of a devastating war between Israel and Hamas militants.

Trump said he would support resettling Palestinians ?permanently?, going beyond his previous suggestions that Arab leaders have already steadfastly rejected.

But he offered no specifics on how a resettlement process could be implemented. His proposal echoed the wishes of Israel?s far right and contradicted former president Joe Biden?s commitment against the mass displacement of Palestinians.

At the press conference, in which hundreds of journalists crowded into the east room, the president was asked if the plan might involve US military force. ?As far as Gaza is concerned, we?ll do what is necessary,? he said. ?If it?s necessary, we?ll do that.?

He did not directly respond to a question of how and under what authority the US can take over the land of Gaza and occupy it in the long term.

?I do see a long-term ownership position and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East,? he went on, claiming that he had spoken to regional leaders and they supported the idea. ?Everybody I?ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land,? he said.

?I?ve studied this very closely over a lot of months,? Trump added, describing Gaza as a ?hellhole? and ?symbol of death and destruction?. He said Palestinians there should be housed in ?various domains? in other countries and expressed hope that the leaders of Egypt and Jordan will ?open their hearts? to the idea over time.

Pressed on who would live in a redeveloped Gaza, Trump said it could become a home to ?the world?s people?, adding: ?I don?t want to be cute, I don?t want to be a wise guy ? but the Riviera of the Middle East ? This could be something that could be so valuable, this could be so magnificent.?

Netanyahu, who praised Trump as ?the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House?, said ?it?s worth paying attention to this? idea and added that it?s ?something that could change history?.

Trump was ?thinking outside the box with fresh ideas?, Netanyahu observed, and is ?showing willingness to puncture conventional thinking.?

Forced displacement of Gaza?s population would probably be a violation of international law and would be fiercely opposed not only in the region but also by America?s western allies. Some human rights advocates liken the idea to ethnic cleansing.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri condemned Trump?s calls for Palestinians in Gaza to leave as ?expulsion from their land?, adding: ?We consider them a recipe for generating chaos and tension in the region because the people of Gaza will not allow such plans to pass.? (The Guardian, UK, excluding headline)

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