Gaza: Trump proposes US takeover
During a visit to the US by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump floated the idea of the US taking control of the Gaza Strip in order to repair the war damage and turn it into "the Riviera of the Middle East". The White House later explained that this would be for the purpose of reconstruction, with "temporary" relocation of the population. Europe's media discuss the motivations and viability of the proposal.
Pretty unrealistic
Tagesschau.de doubts whether Trump has really thought through his plan:
“For his idea of a Middle East reorganisation to work, the US military would also have to be deployed – like a sort of protection force for a capitalist-motivated colonial adventure. ... What's more, with its conduct of the war in Gaza, Israel has lost all credibility in the Arab world. So from Cairo to Riyadh, no one will agree to a plan for Gaza that doesn't include an independent Palestinian state. The Arab League has stated that the Gaza Strip is not for sale, even if the potential buyer is the real estate mogul in the White House.”
At last someone acknowledges the truth
The Spectator praises Trump's initiative:
“Trump's vision will terrify those who have grown comfortable with the status quo. It will unsettle those who prefer diplomatic inertia to hard truths. And it will enrage those who have built careers, reputations, and fortunes upon the perpetuation of the unsolvable. But what he and Netanyahu propose is not reckless; it is reality-based. It acknowledges the unspeakable truth that policymakers have long whispered but never dared articulate: that Gaza, under its current governance and population, is a failed experiment that cannot be salvaged.”
Glaring political short-sightedness
El País is appalled:
“With his spectacular statements, Trump is redrawing the map of the Middle East: Gaza is to become the American Riviera of the Middle East. ... For those who refuse to call a spade a spade, Trump is making things easy: he promises ethnic cleansing, luxury colonies and American control over the territory. If anyone needed more proof that Trump is a fascist, here it is. The world must not remain indifferent, although it probably will. ... The political short-sightedness of this moment is enormous. Europe remains absent. ... The Israeli army and settlers have set fire to the West Bank and Jerusalem. And in Washington they are talking about beach holidays.”
Deliberately setting the bar too high?
Trump has a far bigger plan for the Middle East that he has not yet been revealed, Spotmedia speculates:
“If there's one thing Netanyahu and Trump want more than anything else, it's an agreement that normalises the relations with Saudi Arabia. ... Perhaps that's why Trump is setting up false lines of negotiation. He's creating false problems to give the parties involved a bar that can then be lowered. Trump's statements were so unexpected, so outrageous, so unrealistic that they can only be part of a bigger plan. If not, and if Trump really means what he says, then things will be problematic. For all sides.”
A dangerous game of provocation
There is a pattern to Trump's absurd actions, Visão diagnoses:
“Even the staunchest Trumpist can see the absurdity of this: American troops occupying the Gaza Strip, two million Palestinians expelled from their homeland? Impossible. Unthinkable. No one would accept that. Trump says something provocative today then changes the subject tomorrow. That's his pattern. The problem is that the US is not a circus. It's the world's greatest power, a cornerstone of Nato, locked in a relentless race with China. ... Now he is threatening Iran. Does anyone take him seriously?”
Moral authority in tatters
With Trump and his ideas the US losing its status as a moral authority and becoming a rogue state, says Telegram:
“According to Trump's logic, Putin has the right to occupy a large part of Ukraine because Russia needs it. He also gives China the right to take back Taiwan. ... He is making 'might is right' - according to which states can take territory away from weaker countries as it suits them - the law. Trump has already begun to reshape the world in a cowboy style, opening all the doors to madness and wars. Not just in the Middle East, but all over the world. The US therefore no longer has a moral right to present itself as the leader of the free world, a protector of democracy and human rights. Because Trump is the first to trample all this underfoot.”