In a meeting with Ireland’s Michel Martin on Wednesday, President Trump made a casual remark which was picked up by the Middle East quickly as a significant change in his position on the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Trump told reporters that “no one is expelling anyone” from Gaza.
It came after he said repeatedly that, under his proposal to rebuild Gaza all its residents would have to be moved out while the U.S. “took over” the coastline territory to turn into a luxurious real estate development. Only a month before, Mr. Trump made it clear that, according to him, the Palestinians would need to leave Gaza and would not be allowed to return .
This plan was completely and utterly rejected in Arab countries including Egypt and Jordan. Mr. Trump claimed that these two countries would accept the displaced people.
Egypt, who has been leading efforts to present a plan alternative for Gaza which does not require Palestinians to be displaced, welcomed Mr. Trump’s change of tone.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry expressed its appreciation for Donald Trump’s statements regarding the non displacement of residents in the Gaza Strip. “Egypt affirms this position reflects a clear understanding of the need to avoid further deterioration in the humanitarian situation of the Strip, and the necessity to work towards just and sustainable solutions for the Palestinian cause.”
Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group and Israeli terror organization, which sparked a war in Gaza by its Oct. 7, 2023 brutal attack on Israel welcomed Mr. Trump’s shift in rhetoric.
The spokesperson for the group said that “if Trump’s remarks represent a retreat away from the idea of Palestinian relocation, then they are welcome.”
Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s senior envoy, met with five Arab foreign ministers in Qatar on Wednesday to discuss Gaza’s future post-war. This future can only begin to take shape after the official end of the war.
Israel and Hamas have been able to keep the peace largely since January 19. However, the two sides are still unable to agree on whether the first phase should be extended or if the second phase is to begin as originally planned. The dialogue, which took place in Doha, Qatar with the participation of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE as well as Jordan, the U.S. and Jordan, is meant to push the process forward and keep the guns quiet in Gaza.
In their discussions with American officials, the five Arab countries involved have promoted the alternative proposal crafted by Egypt to Mr. Trump’s “Riviera for the Middle East” proposal.
The Arab plan, which officials first shared with CBS News in early October, has a $53 billion price tag and calls for all residents of Gaza to remain there during the long reconstruction process. The Trump administration rejected the plan at first. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes issued a statement in which he said that it did not “address the reality that Gaza was currently uninhabitable, and residents could not humanely survive in a territory that is covered in debris and unexploded ordinance.”
Hughes added: “We are looking forward to future talks that will bring peace and prosperity in the region.”
On Wednesday, it appeared that Mr. Trump’s remarks in the White House may have convinced that White House that the idea of displacing Gaza’s entire population was not feasible.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the five Arab countries that met in Doha stated: “The Arab Foreign Ministers presented the Gaza Reconstruction Plan which was approved by the Arab Summit in Cairo held on March 4, 2025.” The five Arab nations that met in Doha also agreed to work with the U.S. ambassador on the plan, which will serve as the basis for reconstruction efforts.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a broad group of 57 Muslim countries that share a common commitment to muslim solidarity, has adopted the Egyptian plan. The plan envisions that the Gaza Strip will eventually be run by the Palestinian Authority – which administers portions of the Israeli occupied West Bank – and not by Hamas.
This will be a point of contention for a long time, as the PA has little support from Palestinians. Benjamin Netanyahu also dismissed the PA as if it were destined to become the future administrator of Gaza. There is still much to negotiate if Trump wants to fulfill his promise to end the crisis at the heart of the Middle East.
