By Lydia Alaiadi
Donald Trump was not joking when he announced that he was interested in expanding US territory.
He might have some trouble with getting Greenland, but for him Gaza is available for sale. The former real estate superstar pictures Gaza as the “Riviera of the Middle East”. It would be an economic and humanitarian opportunity for the US to invest in the area. He is convinced that the Palestinians will happily leave Gaza and move to Egypt or Jordan. “I don’t know how they could want to stay” he said. “It’s a demolition site. It’s a pure demolition site.”
But should we really be worried about his new plans? Or is he all talk and no game?
Is being provocative enough?
After losing the 2020 US elections – emphasis on the losing, ’cause being petty is one of our only shields from evil lately – President Trump faced a lot of humiliation, and most of it seemed to be self-inflicting. He won his first and third campaign by being very provocative, essentially making him very popular. Losing in 2020 resulted from inaction on his part during his first term. His big plans, for the most part, did not happen, and everyone adjusted to him being president very quickly since Obama’s reforms were still playing out. In 2020, he wasn’t as provocative as he had been in 2016, and thus, he was not as popular among a great percentage of undecided voters.
In 2024, his campaign was more successful because his provocative stance and jokes of opinions gave him more air time than a candidate of his level should have. “They eat the cats” was a meme trending everywhere, and Kamala Harris was very late in her campaign to catch up to the virality of Donald Trump. But will his provocative plans for Gaza be something we expect him to achieve during his term?
Is Trump’s plan for Gaza feasable?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first foreign leader Trump welcomed to the White House since he became officially President in January 2025. The two have a relatively strong relationship, with Trump only disliking that Netanyahu congratulated former president Biden for getting elected in 2020 (after Trump lost the elections).
In the news conference, Trump announced that The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too.” “We’ll own it and be responsible” for disposing of unexploded munitions and rebuilding Gaza into a mecca for jobs and tourism. Trump promised to turn Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East“. But is seizing control of Gaza a possible scenario for the US? Legally no. Forcing the removal of a population is a violation of international law, one that the United States has protected for years.
But even if we assume that Trump does not care about legality, the Middle East is a very dangerous place to be provocative. In the Cold War between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Israel’s main concern right now would be an attack from Iran, which has been developing atomic weapons and is a serious power not only in the region but also in the world. Their neighbouring countries, Pakistan and India, are considered in the top 10 most powerful countries based on military capabilities. The two have been focusing on their own conflict with China and with eachother. Still, all three can be easily provoked if Iran takes a full offensive against Israel because of the Russian and Chinese involvement in the region – and quite frankly, all of them are there and are part of the conflict.
The illusion of power
This brings us to Trump, who last Tuesday said that he is unsure whether the US would support an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. One wrong move from Trump and the Middle East will be the beginning of World War III.
And no matter how provocative President Trump is, one has to refuse to believe that he is such a risk taker. Most likely, Netanyahu asked for help. Trump offered to say something ridiculous in front of the cameras to keep everyone nervous about buying more time for negotiators to find a better solution for a permanent ceasefire. However, the Middle Eastern threats to the US are significant enough, especially if we consider how other US allies are not very happy with Trump’s theatricals. Thus, the NATO and EU allies will try to delay help as much as possible.
During the conference, Netanyahu said to Trump “You cut to the chase. […]You see things others refuse to see. You say things others refuse to say, and after the jaws drop, people scratch their heads and say, ‘You know, he’s right.’”. Who’s ever said that?
But it is true that jaw-dropping comments are what make Trump relevant, and that is all he needs: not to have power, but for everyone to believe that he has it. Based on his past and real power, most analysts do not think that Trump is capable of coming even close to make a Gaza a Riviera of any kind.
“Gaza is not a place for people to be living”
Lastly, Trump said about Palestinians living in Gaza, “I heard that Gaza has been very unlucky for them. They live like hell. They live like they’re living in hell. Gaza is not a place for people to be living, and the only reason they want to go back, and I believe this strongly, is because they have no alternative. […]I don’t know how they could want to stay. It’s a demolition site. It’s a pure demolition site.”
Israel did that to them. Israel, the long-time ally of the US.
