بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Netanyahu’s Visit to Washington and Trump’s Statements on Displacement
(Translated)
By: Engineer Baher Saleh*
The visit of the Prime Minister of the Jewish entity, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the United States and his meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, 4 February, 2025 garnered significant media and political attention due to the surprising statements made regarding Gaza and the displacement of its residents. During a joint press conference at the White House, Trump stated, “The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too… I do see a long-term ownership position…” He added that the only reason Palestinians remain in Gaza is the lack of alternatives, suggesting the Gaza Strip could become “the Riviera of the Middle East,” after redevelopment.
Trump also mentioned the potential involvement of Jordan and Egypt in the displacement plan, saying, “And I have a feeling that despite them saying no, I have a feeling that the king in Jordan and that the general president [Sisi] - but that the general in Egypt will open their hearts and will give us the kind of land that we need to get this done, and people can live in harmony and in peace.”
These remarks sparked a wave of international and global criticism, with many rejecting the idea of a U.S. occupation of Gaza and the displacement of its residents, while reviving calls for the two-state solution.
The White House quickly clarified that Trump’s plan does not entail a U.S. occupation or reconstruction of Gaza. During a press briefing on Wednesday 5 February, the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, “The president has made it clear that he will not be sending boots on the ground in Gaza.” She also said the U.S. would not pay for Gaza reconstruction but would work with allies in the region to rebuild the territory. This came after Trump, in his Tuesday remarks, did not rule out sending American forces to help secure Gaza, saying, “As far as Gaza is concerned, we will do what is necessary. If it's necessary, we'll do that.”
On Wednesday, 5 February 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to downplay the intensity of Trump’s earlier remarks and justify his stance. He stated that the proposal revealed by Trump regarding the Gaza Strip was not intended as a hostile move, clarifying that the offer involved, “the United States willingness to step in, clear the debris, clean the place up from all the destruction that’s on the ground, clean it up of all these unexploded munitions. And in the meantime, the people living there will not be able -- the people who call that home will not be able to live there while you have crews coming and removing debris, while you have munitions being removed, et cetera.”
The following day, Thursday, Trump himself claimed that, “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by “Israel” at the conclusion of fighting," reiterating his vision for U.S. control over the territory post-conflict.
On Friday, February 7, 2025 during his meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister at the White House, Trump stated, “The U.S. would view it as a real estate transaction. We will be an investor in this part of the world. No rush to do anything.”
This remark further underscored his transactional approach to the Gaza issue, framing it as a commercial opportunity rather than a geopolitical or humanitarian crisis.
Thus, within days, even hours, the statements shifted and evolved from the Trump administration and Trump himself, leading many to interpret this as policy confusion or incoherence, or a deliberate strategy of flooding media and public discourse, with sensational headlines, and provocative stances to distract from the significant domestic changes, and exclusions being implemented within the U.S.
However, the notion of distraction or media flooding remains merely a hypothesis discussed, without concrete evidence to support it. American society is governed by the constitution, the rule of law, institutions, and the judiciary. Trump cannot bypass the constitution or the judiciary, for example, and the courts have repeatedly been able to block, or overturn, decisions made by U.S. presidents, including Trump himself, as has happened in recent days. Similarly, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Pentagon, and oversight institutions are not fledgling, or weak entities that Trump could easily distract, or obscure, with the simplicity suggested by proponents of this hypothesis.
As for the issue of incoherence or inconsistency, it is true that hesitation, or backtracking in decision-making can be described as such. However, that is only if it is unplanned, and falls outside the realm of expected, or probable, outcomes. This, however, seems unlikely for a country like the United States, where policies and programs are crafted by an army of employees, thinkers, and policymakers.
The more plausible explanation is that the Trump administration is preparing the groundwork for forced displacement, a plan previously rejected by leaders, especially in Egypt and Jordan. In other words, this is a “probing” exercise to test whether these leaders can pressure their people to implement Trump’s proposal and displace them from their land, clearing it for annexation by the Jewish entity or postponing it to a later time deemed suitable by Trump. If the people stand against their regimes and prevent them from taking this treacherous step, Trump will proceed with the displacement plan, when he sees it as feasible, with minimal collateral damage. For now, he is content with laying the groundwork, as expressed in his statement, “The U.S. would view it as a real estate transaction. We will be an investor in this part of the world. No rush to do anything.”
This has delighted the Jews and whetted their appetite. Netanyahu, in particular, was overjoyed by the plan, as it aligns with their Talmudic dreams and schemes to displace the Palestinians, and claim the land for themselves. It also serves as a lifeline for him and his government. Netanyahu had postponed the second phase of negotiations, which was scheduled to begin before his trip to the U.S., until after his meeting with Trump. Before leaving for Washington, Netanyahu had announced that his condition for resuming negotiations was Hamas’s agreement to allow its leaders to leave Gaza. However, after his meeting with Trump, he quickly sent a delegation for the second phase of negotiations, and forgot his condition, as Trump’s talk of displacement might convince Bezalel Smotrich to remain in the government, instead of threatening to withdraw, if Netanyahu does not resume the war after the second phase. Thus, Trump’s plan to displace the people of Gaza, eliminate Hamas, and recover all hostages, serves as a gift, and a way to implement Netanyahu and Smotrich’s plans, without returning to war, and without risking, the collapse of Netanyahu’s government, and his potential prosecution.
This is why we saw the Jewish army return to compliance with agreements, such as withdrawing from the Netzarim Corridor, which it did on the morning of Sunday, 9 February 2025, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.
Netanyahu, it seems, was pleased with Trump’s plans to achieve the three objectives, without returning to war, a move that Trump appears to strongly oppose. Netanyahu expressed this in an interview with Fox News, describing Trump’s idea as a great idea that may seem strange at first but will later appear feasible, and provide a radical solution to the Gaza problem. They now want to move to the second and third phases to recover hostages, and prepare the ground for ending the war, and arranging Hamas’s removal from the scene. However, this is accompanied by advancing the displacement plan, and the tightening of conditions on the people of Gaza has already begun. Since the ceasefire took effect, the Jewish entity has been delaying the entry of humanitarian aid, tents, and mobile homes, in addition to creating shortages of water, food, and healthcare, making life in the Gaza Strip difficult, if not impossible, while offering the opportunity to migrate to places with acceptable living conditions. Thus, by announcing the displacement plan and promising to return to the Abraham Accords, normalize relations with Muslim countries, and consider expanding in the West Bank over the next four weeks, Trump has secured the loyalty of the Jews and Netanyahu’s compliance with his plans.
These are their plans and dreams, but Muslims will not accept them. Instead, the plans will all shatter against the rock of the Islamic Ummah’s steadfastness. The 77-year-long resilience of Muslims on their land of Palestine, in the face of the Jews, and all the colonialist forces behind them, is confirmation that the Ummah is not like its cowardly rulers. What Trump sees as cooperation and compliance from the agent rulers will not be seen from the Ummah, and the people of Palestine.
What Trump and Netanyahu think, that the people of Gaza and Palestine cling to their land, because they have no alternative, is shortsighted and a misjudgment of Muslims, measuring them by their own standards and the decay of their own societies. The Ummah of Prophet Muhammad (saw), with its sincere and dedicated men, will render Trump’s statements, and the compliance of his agent rulers, as scattered dust. The Blessed Land of Palestine will return to its people as an Islamic State, for the Khilafah Rshidah (rightly-guided Caliphate) will return soon, by Allah’s will, and the fight against the Jewish entity, and the uprooting of its entity will happen, by Allah’s permission. Then, the land will shine with the victory of Allah, Al-Azeez, Al-Qawwi.
* Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir