The State Duma reacted to Trump's plans for the Gaza Strip

US President Donald Trump wants to gain control over the Gaza Strip in order to solve the problem of conflicts around Israel. Russian State Duma deputy Alexei Chepa made this assumption on Wednesday, February 12.

"Trump wants to solve the problem that has lasted for decades by detaching the Palestinians from Israel, taking them somewhere far away. This is the kind of technical solution that will ease tensions. Naturally, if you resettle these people living on the lands of their ancestors, it will be calmer for Israel," Chepa explained in a conversation with Lenta.Ru.

According to Chepa, Trump will not be allowed to implement such a plan. According to the politician, this will be opposed, including US associates in the region, such as Egypt and Qatar.

"They do not support the resettlement of people and they persist in repeating this, saying that Palestine will have its own state and the Palestinian people have the right to it. So Trump's simple solution to the Palestinian issue will not work," the parliamentarian concluded.

Trump has proposed taking over the Gaza Strip and evicting Palestinians. What the media is saying

Earlier, on February 9, Trump said that his plan to rebuild housing in the Gaza Strip does not imply that refugees will be able to return to their homeland, RT reported. He clarified that he meant "building a permanent place of residence for them." According to him, years will pass before it will be possible to live in Gaza again. In turn, on February 11, Hamas called Trump's statements a manifestation of racism and a call for ethnic cleansing. Hamas postponed the release of the hostages, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement, 360.ru reported.

Back in late January, Trump announced the possibility of resettling refugees from the Gaza Strip in Egypt and Jordan. The proposal involves the potential relocation of up to 1.5 million people, he specified. In this way, they would be guaranteed safety, he said. Later, on February 5, during a press conference, he announced Washington's plans to take control of Gaza. On the same day, The Wall Street Journal learned about Trump's conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the summer of 2024, during which the American leader said it was possible to create "prime real estate" in Gaza.

Egypt or Jordan have repeatedly rejected the idea of accepting large numbers of Palestinian refugees. Palestinian Ambassador to Russian Federation Abdel Hafiz Nofal said the Palestinian side opposes the US president's proposal to resettle Palestinians from Gaza to Arab countries. Iran called Trump's proposal ethnic cleansing. Also the US president's initiative was criticized by Qatar and Turkey.

The ceasefire regime in the Gaza Strip began to operate in the morning of January 19. At the same time, the Palestinian movement Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The next day, Israel released the first 90 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal. The hostage exchange continues.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip into Israel. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.