DayofPal– President Donald Trump’s latest bid to push Gulf states into supporting his Gaza takeover plan seems to have hit a brick wall, with no takers from his wealthy Arab allies. Analysts suggest that if the aim was to ‘shock’ them into action, it has backfired in spectacular fashion.
Speaking at a press conference on February 4, 2025, in Washington, Trump laid out a plan to take over the Gaza Strip, in which Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE would secure waterfront property rights in a rebuilt Gaza Strip, with contracts for construction firms to build residential towers.
In exchange, the Gulf states would fund the displacement of Palestinians and the strip’s reconstruction. However, under the international law, US lack control over Gaza’s maritime borders, complicate such plans.
Trump’s statements on the matter left many wondering whether the president, who ran on ending America’s foreign entanglements, was truly serious about taking control of Gaza or if he was positioning himself for future negotiations with Gulf states regarding the region’s postwar future—and in Saudi Arabia’s case, normalizing ties with Israel.
For weeks, Trump has urged neighboring Arab nations, like Jordan and Egypt, to accept displaced Palestinians from Gaza. However, his own State Department has warned him that Egypt is unlikely to budge.
Saudi Arabia, too, has taken a hard line on funding Gaza’s reconstruction, with its ambassador to the UK, Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, stating in January that while Saudi Arabia would fund the rebuilding of a Palestinian state, it would not invest in territory that could be destroyed by Israel again in the near future.
Trump’s bold assertion that after displacing Palestinians from Gaza, the US would claim “long-term ownership” and transform Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” stunned many.
Yet analysts believe this may have done little to shift the Gulf’s stance, with regional leaders firmly rejecting Trump’s vision.
The plan has also drawn sharp criticism from figures like Emirati analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdullah, who called it on X the “most stupid idea” to come out of Washington, while Saudi Arabia swiftly rejected any plan to displace Palestinians from their land.
Instead, the kingdom reiterated its demand for the creation of an independent Palestinian state as a prerequisite for any normalization with Israel.
Trump’s rhetoric seemed to strike a nerve with Gulf leaders, especially as he insisted that neighboring wealthy nations fund his vision for Gaza. Meanwhile, a growing chorus of voices, including the Arab League, condemned his proposal as a “recipe for instability.”
Efforts to backtrack were quickly made. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified that Trump’s speech was not intended to be hostile but rather a “generous offer to rebuild and oversee the process.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed this sentiment, stating that Palestinians would only be “temporarily relocated.”
Experts like Kristian Coates Ulrichsen of Rice University’s Baker Institute believe that rather than provoking action, Trump’s rhetoric may have made it more difficult for Gulf states to negotiate.
“If the goal was to shock the Gulf into action, it seems to have backfired,” he said. “Trump may think he created room for concessions, but in reality, he made it harder for regional leaders to make a deal.”
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