The U.S. called Trump's words about taking control of the Gaza Strip a provocation

The statements of the American President Donald Trump are an invented provocation. This statement was made on February 5 by Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the U.S. Foreign Policy Department.

"I think he (Trump. - Ed.) is just making things up on the fly. There's probably no plan behind it. And if there is, it is not a plan that has any connection to reality in the current situation in the Middle East, and certainly not coordinated with the Palestinians or neighboring countries such as Egypt and Jordan," he said.

He said the plan would be rejected by the states already at the first point, which is the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to the territories of neighboring countries.

Katulis suggested that the US president is "just trying to shake up the situation." He clarified that Trump had already made similar statements in the first term of his presidency, but they did not matter.

"He is trying to be the center of attention with provocative statements to try to shift the public discourse and focus attention [on his statements]," Katulis added.

He emphasized that Trump provokes conversations and "makes people go a little crazy," while his statements do not solve problems.

That the United States will take control of the Gaza Strip Trump announced the day before during a press conference. At the same time, he specified that the state would own the territory and be responsible for its restoration, The New York Times (NYT) specified.

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On the same day, Trump proposed to resettle refugees from the Gaza Strip to more livable places. He told reporters that a hypothetical resettlement of Palestinians could take place in Egypt or Jordan (two countries that have repeatedly rejected the idea of accepting large numbers of Palestinian refugees) or in "other places" that "could be very beautiful, safe and nice."

Later, on February 5, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed the president's statement that the states are ready to establish control over the Gaza Strip. He also noted that the U.S. is committed to achieving peace for all people in the Middle East region.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), in turn, reported that in the summer of 2024, Trump called the Gaza Strip "prime real estate" in a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the publication, the idea of taking control appeared in the U.S. president recently, and only his inner circle knew about it.

The situation in the Middle East escalated in the morning of October 7, 2023, when Hamas subjected the territory of Israel to massive rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.