Trump’s Gaza takeover proposal stirs debate in Israel, met with mix of support and scepticism

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - File pic of an ultra-orthodox Jewish men walk along a street in Jerusalem's Old City on February 5, 2025. — AFP

JERUSALEM, Feb 6 — US President Donald Trump’s proposal for Gaza’s takeover raised questions in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv yesterday, with some seeing it as the fulfilment of a far-fetched dream.

Initially, it was unclear whether Trump wanted Gazans to temporarily or permanently leave the Gaza Strip during its reconstruction. Israelis responded with a mix of support and scepticism.

US officials later clarified there were no plans to commit funds or troops to the initiative.

“I think Trump’s plan makes sense. Currently, Gaza is completely destroyed, and it’s impossible to reconstruct this place when there are people there,” said Kfir Dekel, a visitor to Jerusalem from the Gaza border area.

The Palestinian territory has been ravaged by 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

“It’s not good for them there, and they’re not being allowed to leave,” Dekel added, referring to Gaza’s Palestinians.

Since Hamas seized Gaza in 2007, Israel has imposed a strict blockade on the territory.

The Rafah crossing to Egypt, Gaza’s only entry point not controlled by Israel, was closed in May 2023 after Israel took control.

It reopened on February 1 under Israeli coordination as part of a ceasefire deal, but Gaza remains largely closed except for rare humanitarian evacuations.

“Let them leave and build their lives somewhere else,” Dekel said, calling Gaza a “cancer in the heart of the nation”.

Wildest dreams

In Jerusalem’s popular Mahane Yehouda market, a quiet atmosphere prevailed, but passers-by had heard of Trump’s announcement.

Refael, 65, who gave only his first name, said he “really liked” what Trump had outlined but in his “wildest dreams”, he found it hard to believe.

Shopkeepers in the area had shown their support for Trump during his election campaign.

Daniel, a retired Jerusalem resident, said Trump often made “statements that may sound good to Israel”, but questioned its feasibility.

“It first sounds like it’s a crazy idea, but then everything that Donald Trump first says sounds crazy, and in the end he turns out to be right,” said Eliyahu Lizorkin in Tel Aviv.

Impossible

An online school manager argued that Gazans could not “continue to live in the place where violence is bred”.

“If any of them would like to live in peace with Israel, why not? Let’s make it so beautiful that they cannot turn down the offer,” he added.

Naama Weinberg, cousin of Itai Svirsky, a hostage who died in captivity and whose body was brought back from Gaza in December, said she didn’t see the plan as “feasible”.

“I don’t see it as a solution, just as it’s impossible to relocate Israelis to other countries. And more than anything, I don’t see how this advances us in the deal to bring back all the hostages,” she said.

Demonstrations for the release of those taken hostage during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza, regularly gather thousands of people in Tel Aviv.

The issue remains a priority for many who continue to rally and cover the city with yellow ribbons, the symbol of the movement.

For Noga Unger, 31, a Tel Aviv restaurant manager, Trump’s plan is “disconnected from reality”.

“I don’t know what his intentions are or how he plans to do it. And I also think that if they don’t want to leave, then no one should force them,” she said. — AFP