“No one is expelling any Palestinians:” Trump backs off from Gaza displacement plan

US President Donald Trump stepped back from his frequently cited, controversial plan to displace over two million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip for a real estate project.

During a meeting with the Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin at the White House, Trump responded to a journalist’s question regarding the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza.

Although the question was originally directed at the Irish Prime Minister, Trump intervened to clarify his stance.

"Nobody is expelling any Palestinians from Gaza," Trump stated.

His remarks were welcomed by Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem.

“If US President Trump’s statements represent a retreat from any idea of ​​displacing the people of the Gaza Strip, they are welcomed,” Qassem said in the statement.

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“We call for this position to be reinforced by obligating the Israeli occupation to implement all the terms of the ceasefire agreements,” he added.

Earlier, Trump proposed a plan to take over Gaza and turn it into a beach resort after forcibly displacing the landowners of Palestine. The plan sparked widespread condemnation and critics described it as “ethnic cleansing”.

Speaking to reporters alongside the King of Jordan at the White House, Trump responded to a journalist’s question about whether he would back out of his plan to ‘buy Gaza.’

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In response, Trump stated, “We don’t have to buy it. We are going to have Gaza. There is nothing to buy; we will have Gaza.”

He further added, “It’s a war-torn area. We are going to take it, we are going to hold it, we are going to cherish it.”

Trump claimed that his reconstruction plan would create employment opportunities in the Middle East, asserting that the US would bring peace to the region.

“I have watched it for so long, all the death and destruction in Gaza. Civilisation has been wiped out in Gaza,” he said, maintaining that the enclave’s seafront location makes it ideal for a “great economic development plan.”

He added that workers from the Middle East would be involved in Gaza’s reconstruction.

In a separate media address, Trump insisted that Palestinians “will leave” if offered a “better alternative,” describing Gaza as a “hellhole.”

He also repeated his warning to Hamas, demanding the release of hostages by Saturday, or he threatened to end the ceasefire agreement.