Gaza, 14 February 2025: Palestinians gathered at Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks about "taking control" of Gaza with Palestinian resistance groups calling any forced relocation a "declaration of war" aimed at uprooting them from their land.
Trump had earlier proposed permanently resettling displaced Palestinians outside the war-torn territory and suggested U.S. involvement in redeveloping Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said at a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Palestinian resistance groups condemned the statement, calling it a new declaration of war to uproot our people from Gaza.
The Follow-up Committee of the National and Islamic Forces, a coalition of major Palestinian factions, said in a statement: “Trump’s remarks expose the true face of the American-Zionist partnership in the aggression against our people.”
The committee urged Arab leaders at the upcoming summit on Feb. 27 to take “practical and direct steps” against Trump's plan, calling for political and material support to strengthen Palestinian resistance.
Trump’s comments were widely rejected by the international community, including all Arab nations and many European countries.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official warned that any escalation would complicate efforts to secure the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza.
“Trump must remember that both parties must respect the ceasefire agreement. The language of threats has no value and only complicates matters,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
A ceasefire has been in place in Gaza since Jan. 19, pausing Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed 48,239 people and injured 111,676. Besides the Government Media Office has updated its death toll to at least 61,709 people, saying thousands missing under the rubble are now presumed dead.