Trump accused of suggesting ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Palestinians after declaring US plans to ‘take over’ Gaza

Donald Trump has been accused of suggesting an “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinian people after he said the US will “take over” the Gaza Strip and permanently relocate its inhabitants.

Mr Trump’s comments came in a meeting with Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu – the first in-person visit by a foreign leader since his return to office. Mr Trump said he wants the United States to “take over” and redevelop the Gaza Strip which is now a “demolition site” that no-one would want to live in.

“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 the entire Middle East can be very proud of,” he said.

Trump renewed his call on Arab nations to relocate displaced Palestinians, telling reporters: “If we could find the right piece of land, pieces of land, and build them some really nice places, … I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza.”

He later added that he was confident that his allies Egypt, Jordan, and other nations would “open their hearts and will give us the kind of land that we need to get this done “.

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese doubled down on Canberra’s continued support two-state solution that recognises Palestinian rights, stopping short of directly mentioning the American leader’s comments.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Albanese said he doesn’t do “running commentary” when asked about the US president’s comments but said they stand firm on their policy.

“[What] I would say is that Australia’s position is the same as it was this morning, as it was last year, and it was 10 years ago, and it was under the Howard government,” Mr Albanese said.

He added that the government supports a two-state solution in Gaza which envisages Israeli and Palestinian states alongside each other.

“What we have said, though, clearly, we’ve supported a ceasefire. We’ve supported hostages being released. And we’ve supported aid getting into Gaza,” he said.

The Israeli prime minister is the first foreign leader to visit the White House since Trump took office on January 20 (AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia was more scathing in its condemnation of any attempts to displace Palestinians, noting their long call for an independent Palestinian state was a “firm, steadfast and unwavering position”.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also reaffirms its unequivocal rejection to any infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people whether through Israeli settlement policies, land annexation, or attempts to displace Palestinian people from their land,” the foreign minister said.

“The duty of the international community today is to work to alleviate the severe human suffering endured by the Palestinian people, who will remain committed to their land and will not budge from it,” it added.

It said Riyadh will not normalise diplomatic relations with Israel without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

A senior Hamas official condemned Mr Trump’s remarks as “ridiculous and absurd” that can “ignite” the region again.

The call for Gazans to leave is “expulsion from their land”, Sami Abu Zuhri said, adding, “We consider them (the plans) a recipe for generating chaos and tension in the region because the people of Gaza will not allow such plans to pass.”

Mr Trump, who has been laying the groundwork for his proposal since last week, saw his suggestions already being rejected by Palestinian leaders and leaders of the Arab world while being condemned by human rights advocates as amounting to a proposal of ethnic cleansing.

Reactions from the Democratic politicians in the US were swift and sharply worded, suggesting it could be Mr Trump’s effort to deflect attention away from the US Treasury payments system.

Freed Palestinian prisoners wave from a bus as they arrive in the Gaza Strip after being released from an Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in Khan Younis, Saturday (Copyright 2025, The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Palestinian American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib accused Mr Trump of “ethnic cleansing” with his suggestion of taking over Gaza.

Democratic congresswoman Rashida said: “This president is openly calling for ethnic cleansing while sitting next to a genocidal war criminal.”

“He’s perfectly fine cutting off working Americans from federal funds while the funding to the Israeli government continues flowing.”

She had been critical of former US president Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict as he poured millions of dollars and weapons to support Mr Netanyahu’s war in Gaza.

Democratic senator Chris Murphy lashed out at the president, calling his suggestion a “bad, sick joke”.

“He’s totally lost it. A US invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of US troops and decades of war in the Middle East. It’s like a bad, sick joke,” he said on X.

He said it is to draw attention away from “the real story”.

“I have news for you – we aren’t taking over Gaza,” he said.

“But the media and the chattering class will focus on it for a few days and Trump will have succeeded in distracting everyone from the real story – the billionaires seizing government to steal from regular people.”

Democratic representative Jake Auchincloss called the proposal “reckless and unreasonable” in an interview with NewsNation and warned that it could jeopardise the second phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

“We have to look at Trump’s motives,” he said. “As always, when Trump proposes a policy item, there is a nepotistic, self-serving connection,” he said.

Referring to Mr Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, he added, “They want to turn this into resorts”.

Democratic senator Tina Smith told CNN that it is “completely possible that he’s trying to distract us all from the ransacking of the Treasury Department’s federal payment system that is going on right now under the thumb of Elon Musk”.

“This kind of lawlessness, we cannot stand for it.”

On Tuesday, hundreds of people protested outside the Department of Treasury in Washington over what many have called a “constitutional crisis” as Elon Musk has gained access to the nation’s federal financial systems

Protesters gather outside of the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building headquarters of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on February 03, 2025 in Washington, DC (Getty Images)

Critics have condemned his sweeping incursion into government operations, which this week led to the shutdown of the US Agency for International Development, merging its aid mission into the State Department.

His secretary of state Marco Rubio backed Mr Trump on his Gaza plans, saying the Palestinian enclave must be free from Islamist group Hamas.

“Gaza MUST BE FREE from Hamas. As @POTUS shared today, the United States stands ready to lead and Make Gaza Beautiful Again,” Mr Rubio said on X. “Our pursuit is one of lasting peace in the region for all people.”

While Mr Trump had floated suggestions of Palestinian displacement since 25 January, statements issued since by Mr Rubio’s State Department on its websites after the top US diplomat’s subsequent calls with regional leaders did not explicitly mention Mr Trump’s suggestion.

Mr Trump’s extraordinary comments are expected to cause unease among Arab leaders as it is a remarkable assertion from a sitting American president, the one who rose to power by promising an end to the ongoing crisis in the world and return of US investments for its own people.

It comes as the 15 months of war have caused a colossal humanitarian impact on the Gaza Strip where the displaced Palestinians have begun returning to their damaged homes.

More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed as the Israeli ministry said it is eliminating Hamas militants and levelled much of the infrastructure across the enclave.

The Israeli military launched an offensive following the 7 October Hamas attack which killed more than 1000 Israelis and foreign nationals.

A UN damage assessment released in January showed that clearing over 50 million tonnes of rubble left in Gaza in the aftermath of Israel’s bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2bn.