Nation Builder: Trump Eyes Ownership of Gaza Strip

“We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site," Trump said during a joint press conference with the Israeli leader. “Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings. Level it out, create an economic development.”

Trump has long argued that neighboring countries should take in Gazan refugees whose lives have been destroyed by the Israel-Hamas war. His latest suggestion comes amidst a tenuous ceasefire and after the terrorist organization released dozens of hostages. Egypt and Jordan have already rejected the idea of accepting refugees, but the president expressed optimism that the leaders of those nations would “open their hearts.” Otherwise, Trump did not provide details on how the U.S. would acquire the real estate. Notably, though, he did not rule out deploying American soldiers to the region to support nation-building.

This is a change from a president who prides himself on avoiding foreign entanglements. He swept aside and replaced the old guard of the GOP by critiquing the neoconservative establishment that supported the invasion of Iraq, telling voters nearly a decade ago, “We’re getting out of the nation-building business.” And once in office, Trump largely put that vision into practice. He reduced the U.S. footprint in Afghanistan and later withdrew U.S. forces from Syria entirely, proclaiming, “Let someone else fight over this long blood-stained sand.”

Asked if there would be American soldiers in Gaza, Trump replied, “If it’s necessary, we will do that.”

Details were sparse, but White House staff were told Tuesday afternoon to stay late into the night. Big news was expected. After Trump made his announcement, even some senior administration officials were surprised and still looking for answers. “That was interesting,” one told RealClearPolitics after the press conference wrapped. Asked what the plan would look like in practice, the official replied, “I need to get clarity myself.”

Pressed for additional details, a White House official would only say that “the president is providing a bold vision to rebuild Gaza and bring peace and stability to the Middle East.” The genesis for the idea may have come from inside the Trump family. “Gaza’s waterfront property, it could be very valuable,” Jared Kushner said last year. Speaking before the Harvard Kennedy School, the president's son-in-law and former senior advisor qualified that the real estate would only become valuable “if people would focus on building up livelihoods.”

“If you think about all the money that’s gone into this tunnel network and into all the munitions, if that would have gone into education or innovation,” Kushner opined, “what could have been done?”

Trump now seems to be in search of that answer. Steve Witkoff, a billionaire investor who helped secure a ceasefire and hostage exchange earlier this year, could play a key role. He was seated alongside the rest of the American delegation in the East Room. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, was on the phone, “listening,” the president said, “to every single word that we say.” Trump allies have often repeated the refrain that he ought to be taken seriously, not literally. When it comes to territorial expansion, however, the new administration insists that Trump is the former. Rubio has repeatedly said that the plan to acquire Greenland “is not a joke.”

Trump looks to his legacy as he begins his second term and has vowed to deliver a new “Golden Age of America.” Expanding the map is one way to write himself into history, explained a longtime Republican operative who was digesting the news late Tuesday night as it pinged around GOP circles. “You read any American history book,” the source said, “and it’s about manifest destiny. There is no faster way to build a legacy than putting your flag in the ground.”

Democrats immediately insisted that the idea was a non-starter. “Any vote for the occupation of Gaza will fail in the Senate,” said Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, but not before picking up on the sudden Trump reversal. “What happened to the anti-war president?” he asked. Delaware Sen. Chris Coons was similarly aghast. “For the first time in more than two decades, U.S. troops aren’t at war,” he said. “Now Trump wants to send U.S. servicemembers halfway around the world to occupy land in the Middle East.”

Netanyahu, for his part, was effusive in his praise of Trump, whom he called “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.” Asked specifically about the new plan to annex Gaza, the prime minister replied, “I think it’s something that could change history. And I think it’s worthwhile really pursuing.” A more concrete possibility may be the Israeli annexation of the West Bank. Trump did not come down on that issue but said that a decision would be coming in the next four weeks, a development that would no doubt shake the region.

Allies of the White House hold out hope that unconventional thinking could provide a solution to a decades-old problem. Nothing else has worked. No other agreement has lasted. “Trump’s proposed USA takeover of the Gaza Strip may sound out of the box,” said David Friedman, who previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Israel, “but it is brilliant, historic, and the only idea I have heard in 50 years that has a chance of bringing security, peace, and prosperity to this troubled region.”