Middle East: Trump's Gaza takeover remarks met with backlash

China said on Wednesday that it disagrees with the "forced transfer" of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, reports AFP news agency.

The comment came after US President Donald Trump suggested a US takeover of Gaza and the "resettlement" of Palestinians living there.

"China has always maintained that Palestinian rule over Palestinians is the basic principle of the post-war governance of Gaza," foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.

"We are opposed to the forced transfer of the residents of Gaza."

Here are some reactions by Democratic politicians to US President Donald Trump's comments: 

US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said that Trump's proposal of a US takeover of Gaza was like a "bad sick joke," adding in a post on X that Trump had "totally lost it.".

In a follow-up post, Murphy said it wouldn't happen, but that Trump's suggestion was distracting "from the real story — the billionaires seizing government to steal from regular people."

It's probably safe to say that Murphy's comment is a swipe at billionaire Elon Musk's campaign to radically upend federal agencies. 

Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib described the notion of resettling Gazans as "ethnic cleansing" in an X post. She also criticized Trump for cutting federal support to Americans while "funding to the Israeli government continues flowing."

"Wait what?" wrote congressman Eric Swalwell on X. "The US is going to occupy Gaza? We were promised no more endless wars."

Not all Democrats rejected the possibility of a US presence in Gaza. Senator John Fetterman called Trump's comments "provocative" in a statement to US outlet Politico but added that "it's part of a conversation and that's where we are."

Here's how some Republican politicians have reacted: 

House Speaker Mike Johnson praised Trump's remarks as taking a "bold action in hopes of achieving lasting peace in Gaza."

"We are hopeful this brings much needed stability and security to the region," he wrote on X.

US Representative Richard Hudson of North Carolina was supportive: "President Trump will never stop working to ensure historic and lasting PEACE!" he wrote on X. 

And long-time Trump ally Nancy Mace, a congresswoman from South Carolina, suggested turning "Gaza into Mar-A-Lago," referring to Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to back Trump's plans for a US takeover of Gaza. 

"Gaza MUST BE FREE from Hamas. As @POTUS [US President Donald Trump] shared today, the United States stands ready to lead and Make Gaza Beautiful Again," Rubio posted on X. 

Trump has floated suggestions of Palestinian displacement since January 25 but has not offered much more detail.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government continues to support a two-state solution in the Middle East, "where both Israelis and Palestinians could live in peace and security."

"We've supported a ceasefire, we've supported hostages being released and we've supported aid getting into Gaza," Albanese told reporters on Wednesday. 

The Australian prime minister didn't respond to questions about what he made of US President Donald Trump's suggestion for the US to take over Gaza and resettle Palestinians elsewhere.

"I'm not going to have a running commentary on statements by the president of the United States," he said. "I've made that very clear."

US President Donald Trump said that Palestinians could "permanently" be resettled from Gaza and that the US would take "ownership" of the Gaza Strip.

"The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too," Trump said during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

"We'll own it. And be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on this site."

He described the role of the US in Gaza as a "long-term ownership position."

You can read more about what Trump said about resettling Palestinians and what he has planned for Gaza here.

 

The Palestinian militant group Hamas unsurprisingly says it rejects Trump's suggestion that Palestinians should leave the Gaza Strip.

"We reject Trump's statements in which he said that the residents of the Gaza Strip have no choice but to leave," Hamas said in a statement.

It added that the suggestions are "a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region."

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri also warned that such actions could "ignite the region." 

Trump's remarks about his desire to control Gaza are "ridiculous and absurd," Abu Zuhri told Reuters news agency.

Hamas, which operates in Gaza, is considered a terrorist group by the US, Germany and several other countries.   

Saudi Arabia says it rejects any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land and that this stance is not negotiable.

In a sharply worded statement issued early Wednesday, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said their long call for an independent Palestinian state was a "firm, steadfast and unwavering position."

"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia also stresses ... its absolute rejection of infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, annexation of Palestinian lands or efforts to displace the Palestinian people from their land," the statement said.

The statement was a reaction to Tuesday's announcement by US President Donald Trump, who suggested the United States could take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip after the Palestinians are resettled elsewhere and develop it economically. 

Some 2 million people live in the Gaza Strip, much of which has been destroyed after Israel's war on Hamas. Israel's operations against Gaza came after the October 7, 2023, terror attacks by Hamas on Israel. 

Saudi Arabia has supported the Palestinians having an independent state comprised of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with east Jerusalem as their capital.