President Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. could take over Gaza and remove Palestinians from the area without ruling out the possibility of sending American troops to the region, saying it could become “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

The president decried Gaza as a “hellhole,” saying it was that way before Israel began bombing the enclave following the Hamas terror attack Oct. 7, 2023. 

But he pledged that under the “a long-term ownership position” by the U.S., the region could be turned into an economic powerhouse that would rival some of the world’s greatest entertainment resorts.

He said the results would be “phenomenal,” comparing it to the world-famous French Riviera. 

However, Mr. Trump left a lot of unanswered questions about his plans, where Gaza’s 2.2 million residents would be relocated and what would happen to those who don’t want to leave. He was also unclear about the exact role of the U.S. in rebuilding the region.

In a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Mr. Trump said the U.S. will “be responsible” for cleaning up the Palestinian territory, including taking away unexploded bombs left from the war between Israel and Hamas.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Mr. Trump said. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site. Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings.”

An “economic development” will be made there that will create “unlimited jobs and housing for people of the area,” Mr. Trump said, adding that it would create stability in the region. 

He said it wasn’t a decision “made lightly.”

“Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land,” he said, adding that “the world’s people,” could live there after, including Palestinians.

The idea was immediately slammed by Democrats. Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, said Mr. Trump has “totally lost it.”

“A U.S. invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of U.S. troops and decades of war in the Middle East,” he wrote in an X post. “It’s like a bad sick joke.”

Mr. Trump also said he plans to visit Israel, and that maybe Gaza would be included in the trip. He has not yet announced where the first foreign trip of his second administration will be.

Earlier Tuesday, Mr. Trump called for Palestinians to be permanently relocated, saying they have “no alternative” and can’t stay in war torn Gaza.

“It would be my hope that we could do something really nice, really good, where they wouldn’t want to return. Why would they want to return? The place has been hell,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office while seated next to Mr. Netanyahu.

“I hope that we can do something where they wouldn’t want to go back, who would want to go back, they experienced nothing but death and destruction,” the president said.

Earlier in the Oval Office, when asked about those who don’t want to leave Gaza, Mr. Trump said he doesn’t “know how they could want to stay.”

“It’s a demolition site. It’s a pure demolition site,” he said. “If we could find the right piece of land, or numerous pieces of land, and build them some really nice places with plenty of money in the area, that’s for sure. I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza, which has had decades and decades of death.”

The call for permanent relocation sparked questions of how it would play out, including where they would go, who would control the land, pay for the rebuilding and what would happen to Palestinian residents who don’t want to leave Gaza.

Mr. Trump didn’t provide any details on his plan, but reiterated his call for Egypt and Jordan to take some refugees, despite the two countries already having said they’re not for it.

Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said the country’s rejection of the idea is “firm and unwavering.” The foreign minister of Egypt has said the idea “risks expanding the conflict in the region.”

Since the founding of Israel in 1948 and the Arabs’ defeat in the ensuing war created a refugee crisis, the Arab nations have refused to assimilate the Palestinians into their own countries.

Talking about the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Mr. Netanyahu said earlier that he supports getting “all the hostages and meeting all our war goals.”

He said that the collaboration between him and Mr. Trump makes the chances of a phase 2 ceasefire deal “go up a lot.”

Mr. Trump also signed two executive orders Tuesday. 

The first restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran in a bid to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and drive its oil exports down to zero.

The move brings back the tough-on-Iran policies that Mr. Trump imposed during his first term. It also comes just hours ahead of his meeting with Mr. Netanyahu.

“It’s very tough on Iran,” Mr. Trump told reporters while signing it. “Hopefully we are not going to have to use it very much.”

The order directs the Treasury Department to impose “maximum economic power” on Iran, including sanctions and enforcement mechanisms on those violating existing sanctions.

It will also implement a campaign aimed at driving Iran’s oil exports down to zero.

In addition, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations will work with allies to restore international sanctions to Iran, something Mr. Trump heavily enforced during his first term, driving Iran’s oil exports to near-zero.

When asked what would happen if Iran tried to retaliate by way of assassination, Mr. Trump said “they would be obliterated,” and added that he’s left instructions on what to do if that happened.

“They shouldn’t be able to do it,” he said, adding that former President “Biden should’ve said that but he never did.”

Another order withdrew the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Relief and Works Agency for the second time.

The UNRWA provides humanitarian aid for Palestinian refugees. Mr. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the two organizations during his first term as well.

The executive order also reviews American involvement in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which Mr. Trump withdrew the U.S. from in 2019. It also calls for a review of American funding in the U.N.

Mr. Trump told reporters that  he “always felt that the U.N. has tremendous potential.”

But “it’s not living up to that potential right now. It really isn’t. Hasn’t for a long time,” he added.

The order was part of a broader attack on foreign aid, as Mr. Trump and Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, take aim at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.