Donald Trump says he wants to make Gaza the "Riviera of the Middle East" – rebuilding the territory and its economy.
The US President wants ''to take over" Gaza and take a "long-term ownership position."
At a White House news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said "The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We'll own it."
He says Palestinians could be resettled away from Gaza, "in areas where the leaders currently say no."
Mr Trump's outlined what he's described as a "long term" occupation - one that he claims will create thousands of jobs and homes.
He's also proposed that displaced Palestinians should be resettled elsewhere - because Gaza is currently "too dangerous".
The US president called Gaza a “symbol of death and destruction” and that the only reason people want to go back there is because they have nowhere else to go. The 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza should move to neighbouring countries with “humanitarian hearts” and “great wealth”, Trump said.
Meanwhile, The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said it rejected any plan involving the displacement of Palestinians.
The leaders of Egypt and Jordan flatly rejected the idea at the time, and a joint statement from several Middle Eastern countries and organisations warned the move could "threaten the region’s stability, risk expanding the conflict, and undermine prospects for peace and coexistence among its peoples".
After Trump's comments last night, Saudi Arabia reasserted its "firm and unwavering" position that it will not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.
China also said it was opposed to the “forced transfer” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
“China has always maintained that Palestinian rule over Palestinians is the basic principle of the postwar governance of Gaza, and we are opposed to the forced transfer of the residents of Gaza,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, said when asked about Trump’s plan at a regular press conference, reports Agence France-Presse.
