Hello and welcome to the inaugural post of Talking Points! This post will deal with Trump’s latest foreign policy proposal, that being the United States should take control of the Gaza strip, relocate the Gazan population to Jordan and Egypt, and redevelop the Gaza strip. In this post, we will examine what the Gaza Strip is, its history, what Donald Trump’s plan would entail, and why the plan is deeply flawed, in both a strategic and moral sense.

The Gaza strip is a small piece of land, only about 141 square miles, sandwiched between the coasts of Israel and Egypt. It is one of two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, referring to the West Bank of the Jordan River. In 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israel, having fought against Jordan, Egypt, and Syria, occupied several pieces of land, among them the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The Israeli Government ceased occupation of the Gaza Strip in 2005, but Israel and Egypt continue to maintain significant control of movement into and out of the Strip. A conflict followed in Gaza between Fatah, a political party within and which continues to partially govern, the West Bank, and Hamas, a political party and militant organization, a war which resulted in Hamas controlling Gaza.

Conflict between Hamas in Gaza and Israel has continued, which was rapidly escalated on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing over one 1000 Israelis and taking hundreds hostage. This attack resulted in an Israeli invasion of Gaza, which has triggered the displacement of civilians within Gaza, significant damage to Gaza’s infrastructure, a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza due to aid not coming in from Israel and Egypt, and the deaths of thousands of Gazans. Currently, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is in progress, based around an exchange of Palestinian prisoners in Israel for the Israeli hostages taken on the initial attack.

In early February 2025, during a visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump proposed that the US should take over Gaza, that Gazans should be relocated to Egypt and Jordan, and that Gaza should be redeveloped. According to Trump’s statements, Gaza is a hellhole that Gazans would be happy to leave, that Gazans should be relocated to much better housing in Egypt and Jordan, and that Gaza could be turned into a riviera. In order to understand this proposal, it is key to understand what this would entail.

First, the United States would need to secure control over Gaza. Considering that the entire conflict rests upon Palestinians, Gazans among them, governing themselves in their territory, it is inconceivable that they would willingly surrender the territory. Thus, the United States would need to invade and occupy the territory, an invasion which would draw the condemnation of at least the 146 countries which recognize the State of Palestine, and likely numerous others. Although the United States Armed Forces possess remarkable logistic capabilities, this is largely because of a network of numerous military bases around the world. I perceive it unlikely that other countries would be willing to have bases in their territory participate in such an invasion, meaning that the United States would not possess the logistical capabilities it would otherwise benefit from. This is not to mention the ordeal that would involve actually invading, occupying, and policing the occupied territory.

Even if Gaza were to be occupied, the plan also involves the forced relocation of Gazans to Egypt and Jordan. Such a plan would require the consent of both Egypt and Jordan. Egypt has taken in a small number of Palestinian refugees, however, it has also taken in refugees from numerous other conflicts around the world. Thus, it is unlikely that they would both have the capacity to host millions more refugees, and would be willing to use the capacity. Furthermore, it is likely that militant groups like Hamas would operate in these camps, raising significant security concerns for Egypt. Such security concerns would even be more relevant for Jordan, already hosting two million Palestinians, which experienced Black September, a civil war in September 1970 between the Jordanian government and a coalition of Palestinian militant groups, which had been attacking Israel from Jordan. With both the cost that Egypt and Jordan would incur from hosting millions of Palestinians, and the likelihood that such refugees could pose, it is unlikely that either Egypt or Jordan would agree to the plan.

Finally, even if Gaza could be occupied and Gazans relocated, the last part of the plan involves a redevelopment of Gaza. Currently the buildings, institutions, and infrastructure of Gaza are devastated. For example, water is a major problem. Gaza largely lacks fresh water, which means it is reliant upon the import of fresh water and desalination plants. Thus, the United States would need to deliver vast amounts of fresh water and invest in the construction of desalination plants, which are extremely expensive. Indeed, desalination requires electricity and fuel. Thus power plants would need to be built and fueled. This is not to mention housing, paying, and securing the workers who would actually do the work of rebuilding Gaza. These workers would also be responsible for the construction of homes, roads, and telecommunications infrastructure. The point is that even if such a plan is theoretically possible, for all intents and purposes, it is infeasible.

With this, I think it can be agreed upon that serious or not as a talking point, Donald Trump’s concept for the United States to gain control of Gaza, relocate its population, and redevelop Gaza is not possible. Even if America was to secure control of Gaza, which would be very difficult due to the logistical problems, Egypt and Jordan would need to agree to accept Gazans. Egypt and Jordan would not agree, due to the cost that housing the refugees would involve, and the security concerns some of the new refugees would pose. Finally, even if Egypt and Jordan were to agree, the financial, practical, and logistical realities of redeveloping Gaza, would make such an effort, largely impossible.