World criticises Trump’s latest salvo on making Gaza a resort

President Donald Trump’s plan for the US to take over war-torn Gaza and create a “Riviera of West Asia” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere has shattered US policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and sparked widespread criticism.

The shock move from Trump, a former New York property developer, was swiftly condemned by international powers, with regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, which Trump hopes will establish ties with Israel, rejecting the plan outright.

Turkey called the proposal “unacceptable” and France said it risked destabilising the region.

Countries from Russia, China, Germany, Spain, Ireland and the UK said they continued to support the two-state solution that has formed the basis of Washington’s policy in the region for decades, which has held that Gaza would be part of a future Palestinian state that includes the occupied West Bank.

Trump, in his first major West Asia policy announcement, said he envisioned building a resort where international communities could live in harmony after over 15 months of Israeli bombardment devastated the tiny coastal enclave and killed more than 47,000 people, by Palestinian tallies.

Trump’s son-in-law and former aide, Jared Kushner, last year described Gaza as “valuable” waterfront property.

Welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Tuesday, Trump said he would support an effort to permanently resettle Palestinians from Gaza to places where they can live without fear of violence, and he and his team had been discussing this possibility with Jordan, Egypt and other regional countries.

In a news conference, Trump said Jordan’s King Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi would come around to the idea despite their rejections, saying they will “open their hearts and will give us the kind of land that we need to get this done”.