Criticism continues

Gaza plans: Trump “has completely lost his mind”

Netanyahu (left) supports Trump's plans - but otherwise he is quite alone in the field.(Bild: AFP/ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)

US President Donald Trump's announcement that he wants to "take over" the Gaza Strip has met with immense resistance. His critics, for example, say he has "completely lost his mind". Even Republicans are voicing doubts.

"The USA will take over the Gaza Strip", said Trump after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington.

Trump wants to "own" the Gaza Strip
"We will own it", Trump emphasized with regard to the Gaza Strip - and did not rule out sending US troops there in case of doubt to back up these plans. The Gaza Strip could thus become a "Riviera of the Middle East".

Soon a "Riviera of the Middle East"? The current images from the Gaza Strip raise doubts.(Bild: AFP)

Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio supported the president's proposals. The USA is ready to "make Gaza beautiful again", Rubio wrote on Platform X. The goal is lasting peace for all people in the region.

Leading Republicans see proposal as "problematic"
However, skepticism was also voiced from the Republican camp. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called the proposal "problematic", according to US media reports. The current chairman of the Budget Committee in the US Senate said he doubted that his constituents would be happy about the deployment of US soldiers to the Gaza Strip.

Democrat: "Like a bad joke"
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote on X about Trump's proposal: "He has completely lost his mind. A US invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of US soldiers and decades of war in the Middle East. It's like a bad, sick joke." Murphy accused Trump of wanting to distract from the cuts and redundancies in the state apparatus.

Internationally, the reactions are similar. The Palestinians continue to insist on a two-state solution, they made clear in an initial reaction. A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Paris declared: "France reaffirms its rejection of any forced expulsion of the Palestinian population from Gaza".

 Such a move would be tantamount to a serious violation of international law and would threaten to destabilize the entire region. It would be a major obstacle to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians and the two-state solution.

Turkey fears further conflicts
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described Trump's comments as "unacceptable". There will only be further conflicts if the Palestinians are not included in the plans, he told the state news agency Anadolu. China is also against the forced resettlement of the population of the Gaza Strip.

China hopes that the ceasefire will be used as an opportunity to put the solution to the Palestinian question on the right track on the basis of a two-state solution, said a foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing.