CNN
Latest on the Trump administration as Gaza plan sparks sharp criticism
By Jessie Yeung, Sophie Tanno and Antoinette Radford, CNN
Updated 10:35 AM EST, Wed February 5, 2025
Trump: US will take ownership of the Gaza strip
02:22 - Source: CNN
What we're covering
• World leaders slam Trump’s Gaza plan: After President Donald Trump said the US “will take over” Gaza, condemnation was swift from officials in both the Middle East and Europe. Trump’s comments — in which the former real estate investor also said Gaza could become the “Riviera of the Middle East” — break with decades of US foreign policy.
• What they’re saying: Arab nations have rejected any suggestions to displace Palestinians from Gaza, which opponents argue would amount to ethnic cleansing. Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its “unwavering” support for a Palestinian state, and reiterated it will not commit to normalization of relations with Israel without such guarantees. However, an Arab official told CNN that Trump’s plan is “worrying” but has no bearing on ceasefire negotiations in Qatar and Egypt.
• Federal shakeup: Meanwhile, in the US, newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi is expected to quickly assert control of the Justice Department, amid a firestorm over firings of agents and prosecutors who have worked on cases related to Trump and January 6. It comes as multiple agencies face layoffs as part of a broad effort to shrink the federal government and shape it to Trump’s agenda.
20 min ago
Jordan’s king rejects plans to remove Palestinians from Gaza and West Bank
From CNN’s Mostafa Salem
Jordanian King Abdullah II speaks to the media in October 2023 in Berlin, Germany.
Jordanian King Abdullah II speaks to the media in October 2023 in Berlin, Germany. Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Jordan’s King Abdullah II reaffirmed his rejection of any plans that include displacing Palestinians from Gaza or the occupied West Bank, a day after United States President Donald Trump announced plans to relocate residents of the devastated enclave and take ownership of the strip.
Trump has proposed moving Palestinians from Gaza to Jordan and Egypt, both key US partners in the Middle East.
“His Majesty the King stressed the need to stop (Jewish) settlement activities and reject any attempts to annex lands and displace Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, stressing the need to establish the Palestinians on their land,” a statement published by Jordan’s state news agency said following a meeting between King Abdullah and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and other Arab allies issued a statement last week reaffirming their long-held desire for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pledging their “continued full support for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land.”
“I said to (King Abdullah) that I’d love you to take on more, because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess,” Trump said last week.
King Abdullah is expected to meet Trump on February 11 at the White House.
54 min ago
Qatar says Arab nations have plans for Gaza reconstruction while Palestinians remain there
From CNN’s Mostafa Salem
Arab nations are planning to reconstruct Gaza while Palestinians remain in the enclave, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari told Fox News on Wednesday.
He said that Arab ministers “made it very clear that we have also our plans for the reconstruction of Gaza while the Palestinians are still there.”
“I don’t think it’s the time now to start commenting on specific ideas,” Ansari said in response to a question on relocating Palestinians from Gaza while its rebuilt.
Ansari said the focus should be on continuing negotiations for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza that would extend a current truce between Hamas and Israel.
“Obviously, we are now quite busy with preparing for phase two of the negotiations, which will start hopefully any day now, which will lead to a more sustainable truce that will hopefully lead to the phase where we can have the reconstruction of Gaza and sustainable peace in the region,” he said.
“No one player around the world can do it alone, this has to be an international effort led by countries like the United States in order to have a sustainable peace in the region,” Ansari said on postwar plans for Gaza.
Earlier, an Arab official told CNN Trump’s plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza and take ownership of the strip is “worrying” but has no bearing on ceasefire negotiations in Qatar and Egypt.
1 hr 21 min ago
Bondi expected to quickly assert control of Justice Department
From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez and Paula Reid
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing for U.S. Attorney General in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing for U.S. Attorney General in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on January 15. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi will arrive for her first day at the Justice Department today amid a firestorm over firings of agents and prosecutors who have worked on cases related to Donald Trump and the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot.
On her first day in office, Bondi is expected to take a series of immediate and dramatic actions to investigate and undo legal moves from the Biden administration, setting the tone for her term as the top law enforcement official in the country, sources familiar with her plans told CNN.
Those actions will be a series of department-wide memos and orders, a law enforcement official said, that officials hope will shift the narrative coming out of the Justice Department away from the January 6 pardons and FBI employee purges that have led the headlines.
While a source familiar with the Trump administration’s strategy said there are “no plans for mass firings at the FBI,” agents remain concerned. The FBI handed over information about more than 5,000 employees who worked on the January 6 investigations after Acting Attorney General Emil Bove demanded the information in a memo last week with the subject “Terminations.”
The source defended efforts to get additional information about officials who worked on January 6 cases as part of an effort to comply with Trump’s executive order directing a review of the Justice Department’s actions over the last four years in an attempt to end the “weaponization of government.”
“The messaging has not been as clear as it could be on the personnel matters,” the person said.
1 hr 34 min ago
Trump’s Gaza remarks worrying but have no bearing on ceasefire talks, Arab official says
From CNN’s Becky Anderson
President Donald Trump’s plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza and take ownership of the strip is “worrying” but has no bearing on ceasefire negotiations in Qatar and Egypt, an Arab official told CNN.
“Israelis are sending the delegation now after the meeting (in Washington with Trump) which is a good sign,” the official said.
Trump’s comments will harm “the more moderate elements in Israel,” making it more difficult for them to push their position, the official added.
When asked how optimistic he is about reaching the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire and hostages deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday: “We’re going to try.”
“That’s one of the things we’re going to talk about here,” he told reporters, speaking alongside Trump at the White House.
Remember: The Gaza ceasefire and hostages deal is currently in its first phase, which went into effect on January 19 and is supposed to last six weeks. A working-level Israeli delegation will head to Doha at the end of this week to discuss the “continued implementation” of the deal, Netanyahu’s office said earlier on Tuesday. A source familiar with the matter told CNN the discussions in Doha would be about phase one.
1 hr 45 min ago
Israel’s extremist politicians delight in Trump’s Gaza plan as "the solution"
From CNN's Mick Krever in Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was effusive in his praise for US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying Trump’s proposal for the United States to take control of Gaza and expel nearly two million Palestinians proved his “willingness to puncture conventional thinking,” and to think “outside the box.”
“Bibi is all for it,” a source familiar with deliberations on the matter told CNN, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. “Not having Palestinians on the other side of the border? What could be better than that?” the source said, characterizing the thinking among Netanyahu and his inner circle.
There are reasons for Netanyahu to be happy.
The proposal distracts from the fact that negotiations on extending the Gaza ceasefire — which expires on March 1 — are going nowhere. The Israeli prime minister has been deeply wary of phase two of that deal, which would see the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the return of the remaining hostages there. His finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has pledged to quit the government if the ceasefire continues.
“Netanyahu’s people always like to test messaging,” the source told CNN. “They feel victorious with Trump on their side.”
Trump’s proposal helps placate those extremist allies who keep Netanyahu’s governing coalition in power. They were furious with the prime minister for agreeing to a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, calling it a capitulation. They have long advocated for Gazans to be incentivized to leave, and for Jews to settle the enclave that the Israeli government forced them to abandon in 2005.
Itamar Ben Givir, the former national security minister who quit the government last month in protest of the Gaza ceasefire, praised Trump’s plan as “the solution” and pledged to return to government if it were implemented.
“For so many years, people have debated what the solution is, what to do, how to do it,” Ben Gvir said. “And every time I talked about it, they called me crazy, messianic, out of touch. But today, the president of the world’s greatest superpower is saying it. The president of the world’s greatest superpower wants to implement it. And we can implement it.”
The forcible transfer of people is considered a war crime under international law.
2 hr 9 min ago
Israeli foreign minister on critics of Trump's Gaza plan: "Out-of-the-box" ideas must be considered
From CNN's Michael Schwartz
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar answers a question during a press conference in Budapest, Hungary, in January.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar answers a question during a press conference in Budapest, Hungary, in January. Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images
Israel has faced criticism over US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said, insisting that the plan should still be considered.
“Unfortunately, I am already hearing criticism in diplomatic discourse, for example, from Europe, as well in the conversations I hold. I believe it is crucial today to consider and examine ideas that are out of the box,” Sa’ar told the Knesset.
Sa’ar said Gaza is a “failed experiment” and in its current state “has no future.”
Israel’s top diplomat said Trump is trying to find a “different solution” and if migration from Gaza happens voluntarily and other countries are willing to accept Palestinians, “can anyone say it is inhumane?”
“I believe that together with the US administration under President Trump, we have an opportunity to at least try to build a better future for ourselves and for the entire Middle East.”
In addition to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, several nations within the international community have widely condemned Trump’s remarks on a possible US “take over” of Gaza.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday that Palestinians “must be allowed home. They must be allowed to rebuild and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two state solution.”
33 min ago
"Any forcible transfer" from occupied territory is prohibited, UN says after Trump proposes US take over Gaza
From CNN's Sophie Tanno
President Donald Trump points during a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held in the White House on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump points during a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held in the White House on Tuesday. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The United Nations Human Rights Office has warned that any forcible transfer or deportation of people from occupied territory would constitute a violation of international law, following President Donald Trump’s suggestion the US should “take over” the Gaza Strip and that the Palestinians living there should leave.
“It is crucial that we move towards the next phase of the ceasefire, to release all hostages and arbitrarily detained prisoners, end the war and reconstruct Gaza, with full respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” the UNHR said in a statement provided to CNN.
“The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law and must be protected by all States, as the International Court of Justice recently underlined afresh. Any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited,” it added.
This post has been updated with a statement from the UN.
1 hr 5 min ago
Trump says he wants a "verified nuclear peace agreement" with Iran
From CNN's Shania Shelton
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he prefers a “verified nuclear peace agreement” with Iran to military action to stop the country from developing a nuclear weapon.
Trump, who has long pushed for an aggressive posture against the longtime US rival, signed a directive on Tuesday authorizing a tough approach toward Tehran to prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon while warning of “obliteration” should he be assassinated by Iranian operatives.
“I want Iran to be a great and successful Country, but one that cannot have a Nuclear Weapon. Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens,’ ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday.
He continued, “I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper. We should start working on it immediately, and have a big Middle East Celebration when it is signed and completed. God Bless the Middle East!”
The president said on Tuesday that he was signing the memorandum only reluctantly and hoped it might lead to a deal with Tehran, saying in the Oval Office, “We will see whether or not we can arrange or work out a deal with Iran, and everybody can live together, and maybe that’s possible and maybe it’s not possible. So I’m signing this and I’m unhappy to do it, but I really have not so much choice because we have to be strong and firm.”
Remember: There was a planned nuclear deal between Iran and the US, but Trump quit the deal in May 2018. At the time, he said he would initiate new sanctions on the regime, crippling the touchstone agreement negotiated by his predecessor.
3 hr 10 min ago
How European leaders are responding to Trump's Gaza plan
From CNN Staff
Outside the Middle East, world leaders are scrambling to respond to US President Donald Trump’s proposed plan that the US should take over Gaza.
Here’s how some have responded:
• France: The country “reiterates its opposition to any forced displacement” of Palestinians, a spokesperson for the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said. The spokesperson warned that any forced displacement would constitute a “serious violation of international law, an attack on the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians” and prove a “major obstacle to the two-state solution.”
• Germany: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock rejected the US plan, saying that Gaza “just like the West Bank and East Jerusalem — belongs to the Palestinians.” Baerbock said Wednesday the “expulsion of the Palestinian civilian population from Gaza would not only be unacceptable and contrary to international law, it would also lead to new suffering and new hatred.”
• Spain: “I want to be very clear on this: Gaza is the land of Gazan Palestinians and they must stay in Gaza,” Reuters quoted Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno as saying Wednesday morning.
• UK: Foreign Minister David Lammy said that “Donald Trump is right” that Gaza has been destroyed and is “lying in rubble,” Reuters reported. But, he added the UK has “always been clear in our belief that we must seek two states. Separately, the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he believed the ceasefire needed to be sustained and Palestinians “must be allowed home. They must be allowed to rebuild and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two state solution,” speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
This post has been updated with the latest comments from some European leaders.
3 hr 51 min ago
Trump’s Gaza takeover plan “tantamount to ethnic cleansing,” medical charity says
From CNN’s Antoinette Radford and Sana Noor Haq
People walk past the rubble of collapsed buildings along Saftawi Street in Jabalya, Gaza, on January 20.
People walk past the rubble of collapsed buildings along Saftawi Street in Jabalya, Gaza, on January 20. Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images
The plan to “take over” Gaza proposed by US President Donald Trump is “tantamount to ethnic cleansing,” Steve Cutts, the interim CEO of Medical Aid for Palestinians said Wednesday.
“Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people, not the United States or Israel, and this move would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing and a war crime,” he said in a statement Wednesday.
“The fate of two million Palestinians — and the very foundations of international law — hang in the balance,” Cutts warned and called on world leaders to “challenge the racist dehumanization of the Palestinian people.”
3 hr 57 min ago
Far-right Israeli minister commends Trump's Gaza plan
From CNN's Michael Schwartz and Mostafa Salem
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich commended a plan presented by United States President Donald Trump to remove Palestinians from Gaza and take ownership of the strip.
“We will work to permanently bury the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state,” Smotrich said in a video statement.
Smotrich had threatened to leave Israeli Prime Minister’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s government after a ceasefire deal was agreed with Hamas last month. Instead, he remained in government after receiving what he said were assurances that Israel will return to war in Gaza.
“I made this decision based on intimate knowledge of the behind-the-scenes actions in recent months and on my partnership in shaping our plans for continuing the campaign on all fronts. And believe me—this is just the beginning,” he said.
The minister, a settler himself, leads Religious Zionism, a far-right party pushing for Jewish settlement in Gaza.
“The plan presented yesterday by President Trump is the true response to October 7. Those who carried out the most horrific massacre on our land will find themselves losing their land forever,” he said.
3 hr 55 min ago
Palestinian Authority president says US takeover of Gaza would be a "serious violation of international law"
From CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman and Antoinette Radford
Mahmoud Abbas addresses a press conference at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, on September 19.
Mahmoud Abbas addresses a press conference at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, on September 19. Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images
The Palestinian Authority said it would not allow the rights of Gazans “to be infringed upon” after US President Donald Trump suggested a US takeover of the territory, according to state news agency Wafa.
“We will not allow the rights of our people, for which we have struggled for decades and made great sacrifices to achieve, to be infringed upon,” Wafa quoted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as saying.
Abbas added that any takeover by the US would be a “serious violation of international law” and reiterated his support for a two-state solution.
“The Palestinian people will not give up their land, rights and holy sites,” he said.
Abbas also welcomed the position taken by Saudi Arabia, who earlier Wednesday rejected the US plan and reaffirmed its “unwavering” support for a Palestinian state, Wafa reported.
The Palestinian Authority governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
4 hr 39 min ago
Saudi Arabia reiterates "unwavering" support for Palestinian statehood
From CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Zeena Saifi, Lucas Lilieholm and Irene Nasser
Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its “unwavering” support for a Palestinian state on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump reiterated his intention for the US to “take over” the Gaza Strip during a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry also restated its long-held position that it will not commit to normalization of relations with Israel without guarantees of a Palestinian state, citing previous speeches by the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the statement on X said.
The ministry also demanded an “end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.”
“Achieving lasting and just peace is impossible without the Palestinian people obtaining their legitimate rights in accordance with international resolutions, as has been previously clarified to both the former and current U.S. administrations,” it added.
Earlier, Trump and Netanyahu had both expressed confidence that Israel and Saudi Arabia would normalize relations in the future, with the Israeli leader saying peace between the two Middle Eastern nations “is going to happen.”
More context: Last week, Saudi Arabia along with other Arab nations including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt, issued a wide-ranging statement pushing back on Trump’s suggestion to displace Palestinians from Gaza when it was initially raised. Without specifically referencing the US president’s proposal, the statement reiterated a commitment to rebuilding the enclave while ensuring “the continued presence of Palestinians in their homeland.”
6 hr 4 min ago
Here's what regional political leaders think of Trump’s Gaza plan
From CNN’s Kareem Khadder, Michael Schwartz, Irene Nasser and Lucas Lilieholm
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House on Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House on Tuesday. Bryan Dozier/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images
Political leaders in the Middle East are reacting to President Donald Trump’s proposal that the United States “will take over” Gaza — possibly with the help of US troops — while the Palestinians who live there should leave.
Here’s what they said:
Hamas: Spokesperson Izzat Al-Rishq said Trump’s comments reflected the US president’s “deep ignorance” of the region and confirmed US bias in favor of Israel. “Gaza is not a common land for any party to decide to control, but rather it is part of our occupied Palestinian land, and any solution must be based on ending the occupation and achieving the rights of the Palestinian people, and not on the mentality of a real estate merchant, and the mentality of power and domination,” he said. Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said “Trump’s remarks and suggestions are in complete violation of international law and represent a call for ethnic cleansing, which is a war crime.”
Israel: Trump’s remarks were praised by both members of the ruling party and opposition figures. Benny Gantz, Chairman of the National Unity Party called Trump’s remarks “creative, original, and interesting.” Opposition leader Yair Lapid praised Trump’s proposal as “good for Israel,” but cautioned that the details of the plan would need to be assessed.
Egypt: Palestinians should not be leaving Gaza while it is being rebuilt, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said. He said recovery from the conflict should happen “without the Palestinians leaving the Gaza Strip, especially given their attachment to their land and their refusal to leave it.”
Saudi Arabia: The nation affirmed its “unwavering” support for a Palestinian state and restated its long-held position that it will not commit to normalization of relations with Israel without such guarantees.
5 hr 49 min ago
Analysis: Trump's Gaza comments are "wish of ethnic cleansing," journalist says
From CNN's Sophie Tanno
President Donald Trump’s proposals to “take over” Gaza amount to a “wish of ethnic cleansing,” investigative journalist and author Antony Loewenstein said on CNN.
Loewenstein, who wrote the book “The Palestine Laboratory,” said he found the comments “shocking” on the one hand, and “totally unsurprising” on the other.
He said that the president’s comments are an Israeli far-right policy that has existed for years. “In some ways it started arguably in 1948 with the establishment of Israel.”
He continued: “The plan was always from the beginning from the Israeli Jewish state to have as few Palestinians as possible in Palestine… You can’t do this all in one go, the Israeli thinking goes, you do it incrementally.”
Therefore, Loewenstein said, the Israeli right is going to be “very excited” in some ways, by Trump’s words.
For context: Trump on Tuesday said the United States “will take over” the Gaza Strip — possibly with the help of American troops — while the Palestinians who live there should leave, in what was a stunning proposal that breaks with decades of US foreign policy.
2 hr 38 min ago
Egypt says Palestinians should not leave Gaza
From CNN’s Mostafa Salem
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, right, meets with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, in Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, right, meets with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, in Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday. Amr Nabil/AP
Palestinians should not be leaving Gaza while it is being rebuilt, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mostafa on Wednesday.
The officials met hours after US President Donald Trump announced plans to “take over” Gaza, in remarks that were met with widespread criticism from Palestinian politicians and Arab states.
“Regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the meeting stressed the importance of moving forward with early recovery projects and programs, removing rubble and delivering humanitarian aid at an accelerated pace, without the Palestinians leaving the Gaza Strip, especially given their attachment to their land and their refusal to leave it,” Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said.
Trump told reporters Tuesday that “everybody (he’s) spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land,” referring to Gaza, and said he hoped Jordan and Egypt would take in Palestinians who would be forced out of the enclave.
Arab nations have long rejected any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and have called for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
6 hr 20 min ago
Trump has given Netanyahu political "ammunition," analyst says
From CNN's Sophie Tanno
President Donald Trump listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday. Evan Vucci/AP
President Donald Trump has provided Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with political power during the Israeli leader’s visit to the White House, a former US Middle East peace negotiator said on CNN.
Rather than use the opportunity to push Netanyahu through a second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, Trump has instead given the Israeli leader “ammunition to use against his right-wing as to why it’s important to go through the first phase to keep Trump on Israel’s side,” Aaron David Miller said.
Miller said Trump had “armed Netanyahu with a set of talking points that will be very effective in helping him politically at home at a very critical moment.”
Trump and Netanyahu gave a White House press conference Tuesday evening, in which the president doubled down on his suggestion that nearly 2 million Palestinians should be relocated from battle-leveled Gaza to new homes elsewhere so that the US could send troops to the strip, take ownership and build the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Israel’s far-right has long endorsed the idea of expelling Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, and far-right lawmakers welcomed Trump’s comments about taking over the strip.
7 hr 8 min ago
No indication Israeli hostages will be released today
From CNN's Mick Krever and Sophie Tanno
A woman walks past graffiti calling for release of the hostages taken by Hamas, in Kfar Saba, Israel, on Tuesday.
A woman walks past graffiti calling for release of the hostages taken by Hamas, in Kfar Saba, Israel, on Tuesday. Shir Torem/Reuters
There is not yet any indication that any Israeli hostages or Palestinian prisoners will be released on Wednesday, despite President Donald Trump saying as much at the White House yesterday.
Alongside Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said more hostages would be released today. “Tomorrow, more are being released, and over the days, more, then we’re going to a phase two,” Trump said.
The next scheduled hostage release is Saturday, February 8.
CNN’s Kit Maher contributed to this post.
2 hr 37 min ago
Trump says Palestinians should leave Gaza. Here's what that could mean for the Middle East
From CNN's Nadeen Ebrahim
A Palestinian man views the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
A Palestinian man views the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Hatem Khaled/Reuters
President Donald Trump’s plan to move Palestinians in Gaza to neighboring countries has drawn sharp criticism, with opponents condemning it as ethnic cleansing.
After Trump first proposed to “clean out” Gaza last week, experts warned that beyond the moral and legal concerns, an influx of refugees into neighboring Arab countries could destabilize them.
Both the Egyptian and Jordanian governments “would be met by sweeping domestic opposition if they were seen by their publics as being complacent with a second Palestinian Nakba,” said Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Bahrain, told CNN last week.
What is the Nakba? In 1948, roughly 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forcibly expelled from their homes in historic Palestine, during the creation of Israel.
Israel has barred them and their descendants from returning, leaving millions of refugees in neighboring countries without citizenship or prospects for permanent resettlement.
For Jordan, which is already home to millions of Palestinians, an altered demographic “would threaten the Hashemite monarchy’s hold on power,” Alhasan said, adding that financially, “neither Egypt nor Jordan can afford to host millions of additional refugees.”
Palestinian villagers who fled from their homes in November 1948, during the Nakba.
Palestinian villagers who fled from their homes in November 1948, during the Nakba. Jim Pringle/AP/File
Some context: Egypt and Jordan are two of the US’ closest allies in the Middle East, and major recipients of US aid that have for decades aligned their regional policies with US interests.
Jordan and Egypt’s influence in Washington, DC has been overshadowed by Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over time, according to Jane Kinninmont, an expert on conflict at the European Leadership Network. What remains to be seen, she said, is how far those countries will go in “sending a clear message to Washington that mass displacement won’t make the conflict go away.”
Egypt and Jordan already host a sizeable number of refugees.
Both countries may also have security concerns if their territories become staging grounds for attacks on Israel, which could further strain their peace treaties with Israel, Alhasan said.
7 hr 42 min ago
Trump's Gaza plan could endanger hostage deal and push Palestinians toward Hamas, CNN analyst says
From CNN's Jessie Yeung
Hamas militants gather ahead of a hostage release in Gaza City on Saturday.
Hamas militants gather ahead of a hostage release in Gaza City on Saturday. Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters
President Donald Trump’s brazen proposal to “take over” Gaza could raise tensions during a fragile phase of the hostage exchange deal, and spark further violence if Palestinians are forced off their land, said CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kimberly Dozier.
The proposal “will be surely seen as Trump’s commitment to work with Israel to remove Hamas from Gaza,” Dozier said. On Tuesday, Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu said he believed Trump would help Israel achieve all of its war goals.
It also risks pushing Palestinians in Gaza toward Hamas, the militant group that had governed the territory for more than 15 years before its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
“Those 1.8 to 2 million Gazans inside that territory right now, only some of them currently support Hamas,” Dozier said. “But if they are ordered to leave by the United States, I think you recruit every single one of them to the cause to fight not just Israel, but any US troops that might dare try to enter their territory.”
Hamas response: A Hamas official said late Tuesday that Trump’s plan was a “recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region,” and that Palestinians in Gaza would not allow it.
8 hr 35 min ago
Greenland, Canada, Panama Canal: Trump adds Gaza to string of proposed land grabs
From CNN's Jessie Yeung
An aircraft carrying Donald Trump Jr. arrives in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 7.
An aircraft carrying Donald Trump Jr. arrives in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 7. Emil Stach/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s stunning plan for the US to “take over” and redevelop Gaza adds to his string of proposed land grabs since taking office, each of which has prompted an outcry over his proposed threats to sovereignty.
Greenland: Trump has revived calls made in his first presidency for US ownership of Greenland, calling it “an absolute necessity.” He didn’t rule out using “military or economic coercion” to gain Greenland, claiming it was vital for US security.
But experts say he may also be eyeing other aspects of Greenland such as its trove of natural resources — including rare earth metals — which may become more accessible as climate change melts the territory’s ice.
Denmark, for whom Greenland is an autonomous crown dependency, has maintained it’s not for sale. Officials in Greenland, meanwhile, have sought to assert the territory’s right to independence.
Canada: Trump spoke repeatedly in January about somehow turning the independent country into a 51st US state. It is not clear whether Trump’s self-proclaimed “great idea” is mere trolling, a serious desire, or an unorthodox negotiating tactic in bilateral discussions over trade, immigration, and national security.
The idea has been denounced by federal and provincial Canadian leaders from left to right. This, along with steep tariffs that Trump issued then paused, have also angered many Canadians, some of whom are boycotting travel to the US in protest and booing the American national anthem at sports games.
Panama: Just last weekend, Trump reiterated his vow to “take back” the Panama Canal, in an escalating diplomatic dispute over China’s presence around the vital waterway.
“China is running the Panama Canal that was not given to China, that was given to Panama foolishly, but they violated the agreement, and we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen,” Trump told reporters.
Panama’s President Raúl Mulino has said the canal’s sovereignty is not up for debate. But he added that Panama will seek to work with the US on new investments and will not renew a 2017 agreement to join China’s global development scheme, known as the Belt and Road Initiative.
8 hr 39 min ago
International law prohibits forcing people from their homeland, CNN analyst says of Trump's Gaza plan
From CNN's Jessie Yeung
A Palestinian flag flutters among the rubble of destroyed buildings in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
A Palestinian flag flutters among the rubble of destroyed buildings in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Hatem Khaled/Reuters
International humanitarian law prohibits removing a group of people from their home territory, raising questions about President Donald Trump’s plan to “take over” Gaza and encourage the displacement of Palestinians living in the enclave, said CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger.
“How do you persuade the Palestinians to leave their land … and what do you do if they won’t leave? Because the Geneva Conventions is pretty clear that you cannot forcibly move a population off of their homeland,” he told CNN’s John Vause.
What does the UN say? The Geneva Conventions — the international standard for humanitarian law in conflict — prohibits the forced movement of civilians. It states that civilian displacement shall not be ordered “unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons so demand.”
“At a moment that many politicians believe we should be leaving the Middle East, when Donald Trump in fact rose in part politically out of his critique that we shouldn’t have been in this war to begin with, the idea that you would put American troops back in the middle of Gaza … is going to be a pretty hard sell,” he said.
Is it realistic? Trump’s proposed plan raises a host of questions about how such a land-grab would proceed, what its legal authorities would be and who would pay for the effort.
When asked whether the US has the authority to enact such a plan, Sanger said no — but pointed to other instances of US military campaigns, such as the invasion of Iraq, that went ahead anyway.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of authority there either, even the kind of UN resolution that the US had looked for,” he said.
“This is what happens when you bring a real estate developer who comes to these problems with an experience of 40 years of building buildings, and you drop them into territory like this,” Sanger said.
8 hr 57 min ago
Trump says Palestinians don't want to stay in Gaza. Here's what residents have said
From CNN’s Irene Nasser
Palestinians walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
Palestinians walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Hatem Khaled/Reuters
US President Donald Trump’s proposal for a US takeover of Gaza and his description of the territory as “hell” stands at odds with recent scenes of Palestinians returning to their destroyed homes and vowing to rebuild following more than 15 months of war.
“I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza,” Trump said, as he suggested the Palestinians be provided a “good, fresh, beautiful piece of land” to live. “Why would they want to return? The place has been hell,” Trump added, ignoring the reply from a reporter: “Because it’s their home.”
Tens of thousands of Palestinians walked for hours to return to their bombed-out homes in Gaza after a ceasefire came into force in January.
“We want to return home… Even though my house is destroyed. I miss my land and my place,” Nadia Qassem, from Al-Shati Refugee Camp, told CNN at the time.
Social media was flooded with videos of Palestinians arriving at their damaged and destroyed homes, but seen smiling – and pledging to rebuild. In many of the videos, Palestinians are seen clearing their homes of rubble, or joyous as they see that at least one room has been spared.
Khamis Imarah told CNN: “I am from Gaza and I won’t leave. Even if it was harder and more difficult than this, I want to live in Gaza and I won’t leave it.”
“This is ingrained in our minds, we will stay,” he said. “We will not leave this place, because this land is not ours but our grandparents’ and our ancestors’ before us. How am I supposed to leave it? To leave the house of my father, and grandfather and brothers?”
More pushback: Trump’s Gaza proposal has been widely criticized by Palestinians and many in the region.
The director of Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza said the “Trump administration seeks to distract and occupy us with malicious schemes,” rather than addressing the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
“They aim to shift focus from the core issue to proposals of voluntary or forced migration from Gaza to Egypt, Jordan, or other countries,” Dr. Fadl Naim said. “Those who genuinely wish to improve the lives of Palestinians must prioritize rebuilding Gaza, restoring residents to their original homes, and providing essential infrastructure.”
9 hr 52 min ago
Trump said he would "take over" Gaza, which could become a "Riviera." Here's the latest
From CNN's Jessie Yeung
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday. Leah Millis/Reuters
President Donald Trump has said the United States “will take over” Gaza — possibly with the help of US troops — while the Palestinians who live there should leave, a stunning proposal that sparked global criticism and confusion.
The comments raise a host of questions about how Trump’s land-grab would proceed, what its legal authorities would be and who would pay for the effort.
Here are the main developments:
What Trump said: “The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said, describing his vision for the area as a new “Riviera.” He added that “we’ll own it,” dismantle unexploded bombs and clear debris. He did not rule out sending US troops to fill a security vacuum in Gaza. He also framed the matter as a humanitarian one, saying Palestinians could be offered a “good, fresh, beautiful piece of land” to live instead of staying in the war-torn territory.
Hamas’ response: A Hamas official called the proposal a “recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region,” and said the people in Gaza “will not allow these plans to pass.” The Palestinian militant group had governed the territory for more than 15 years before its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Regional pushback: Arab nations have pushed back on any suggestions to displace Palestinians from Gaza, which opponents argue would amount to ethnic cleansing. Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its “unwavering” support for a Palestinian state, and two Arab officials expressed puzzlement and concern, telling CNN it was “hard to grasp and digest.”
Bipartisan criticism: GOP senators largely refused to comment as they dashed to and from floor votes, while others expressed some skepticism. Democratic senators were more blunt, with some calling the plan “crazy” and “dangerous.”
Delight from Israel’s far-right: When Trump first floated the idea last week, it was praised by the Israeli far-right, which has long pushed to expel Palestinians from Gaza and reestablish Jewish settlements in the territory. On Wednesday, far-right Israeli lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir urged Netanyahu to adopt such a plan, claiming Trump’s comments had vindicated a position he has expressed throughout the war.
9 hr 45 min ago
Trump teases announcement on the occupied West Bank in response to question on Israeli annexation
From CNN's Lucas Lilieholm and Irene Nasser
Israeli army vehicles drive during a military raid in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on Tuesday.
Israeli army vehicles drive during a military raid in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on Tuesday. Zain Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump teased an impending announcement of a US proposal for the occupied West Bank when asked by a reporter on Tuesday if he supported Israeli sovereignty over “Judea and Samaria,” the Biblical term many Israelis use to describe the Palestinian territory.
“We’re discussing that with many of your representatives,” Trump replied. “People do like the idea, but we haven’t taken a position on it yet. But we’ll be making an announcement probably on that very specific topic over the next four weeks.”
To some right-wing Israelis, the advent of the Trump administration provides a unique opportunity to extend Israeli control in the West Bank, where more than 500,000 Jewish settlers live on land captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 war. The settlements there are considered illegal under international law.
During his first term, Trump abandoned the long-held US stance that settlements are illegal and several of his nominees have suggested Israel has the right to annex the West Bank.
Elise Stefanik, who is slated to become the new US ambassador to the United Nations, said she agreed with the view that Israel has “a biblical right” to annex the West Bank. Mike Huckabee, who is expected to become US ambassador to Israel, has previously said there is “no such thing as a Palestinian.”
On Tuesday, Republican Senator Tom Cotton introduced legislation to require all official US documents and materials to use “Judea and Samaria” instead of the “West Bank.” The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney on Friday.
“The Israeli people have an undeniable and indisputable historical and legal claim over Judea and Samaria,” Tenney said.
Israel launched a major military offensive in the West Bank in January, two days after the ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza came into effect. At the outset, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military would adopt tactics learned in the Gaza offensive in its efforts to eradicate militant groups and, in his words, “ensure that terrorism does not return.”
One area majorly hit by Israeli forces has been Jenin, in the northern West Bank. On Tuesday, the UN said all 30,000 residents of the Jenin refugee camp had been forced to leave following an Israeli operation that destroyed hundreds of residential units.
9 hr 14 min ago
This isn’t the first time Trump has suggested turning a geopolitical hotspot into a real estate development
From CNN's Jessie Yeung
President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during their 2018 summit in Singapore.
President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during their 2018 summit in Singapore. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images/File
President Donald Trump caused shockwaves on Tuesday with his suggestion that Gaza be taken over by the United States and potentially turned into a real estate development.
But it’s not the first time he’s looked at an intractable geopolitical crisis as a business opportunity.
“We’re going to take over that piece that we’re going to develop it,” he said of Gaza, a war-torn enclave that some 2 million Palestinians call home, in a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. And I don’t want to be cute, I don’t want to be a wise guy, but the Riviera of the Middle East, this could be something that could be so — this could be so magnificent.”
North Korea dreams: Trump’s comments are reminiscent of those he made during a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2018. Trump showed Kim a corporate-style sales video of gleaming skyscrapers, offering a real estate development in exchange for North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons.
“As an example, they have great beaches,” Trump said. “You see that whenever they are exploding the cannons into the ocean. I said, ‘Boy look at that view.’ Wouldn’t that would make a great condo? I said, ‘Instead of doing that, you could have the best hotels in the world.’”
The talks between the US, South Korea and North Korea ultimately fell apart — but Kim has continued to pursue a vision of North Korean luxury travel, planning an enormous beach resort on the southeast coast. The complex was slated to open in 2019 but has been delayed.
Family echoes: Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — also a property magnate, like the president — sparked outrage last year after similar comments on Gaza’s potential for development.
“Gaza’s waterfront property could be very valuable … if people would focus on building up livelihoods,” Kushner said in March.
“It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but from Israel’s perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up … But I don’t think that Israel has stated that they don’t want the people to move back there afterwards,” Kushner said.
It’s also worth noting that Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is a wealthy real-estate tycoon.
9 hr 50 min ago
Analysis: Why Trump’s Gaza plan is the most outlandish idea in US Middle East peacemaking history
From CNN's Stephen Collinson
President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu couldn’t keep the smirk off his face.
Netanyahu looked on in the White House on Tuesday as President Donald Trump delivered the most stunning US intervention in the long history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The president repeatedly doubled down on his suggestion that nearly 2 million Palestinians should be relocated from battle-leveled Gaza to new homes elsewhere so that the US could send troops to the Strip, take ownership and build the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
“You build really good quality housing, like a beautiful town, like some place where they can live and not die, because Gaza is a guarantee that they’re going to end up dying,” Trump told reporters.
In a few words, Trump conjured up a mind-boggling geopolitical transformation of the Middle East and a political lifeline for Netanyahu – showing why the prime minister, despite their past tensions, was rooting for his host’s return to power in the 2024 election.
Netanyahu can now bill himself to right-wing factions in his coalition, which incessantly threaten his grip on power, as the unique and vital conduit to Trump. The American president’s views now parallel Israeli hardliners’ desire to see Palestinians ousted from part of what they view as the sacred land of Israel.
Trump’s comments – delivered throughout the day, first at an executive action signing ceremony, and later alongside Netanyahu in the Oval Office and at a joint news conference – were a landmark moment in the history of US peacemaking in the Middle East.
To see an American president endorse what would be the forcible expulsion of Palestinians from their home, in an exodus that would subvert decades of US policy, international law and basic humanity, was breathtaking.
He envisaged a real estate deal whereby he’d assume responsibility for Gaza and mastermind a job-creating urban regeneration project. He called it an American “ownership position.” A better phrase would be colonialism for the 21st century.
And in all of Trump’s recent public pronouncements on Gaza, there’s an important missing element — any sense that the Palestinian people would have a choice in their own destiny.
Read the full analysis.
9 hr 59 min ago
Analysis: Fareed Zakaria calls Trump’s Gaza comments "an Israeli right wing fantasy"
CNN’s Fareed Zakaria discusses President Donald Trump’s comments that the United States “will take over” Gaza — possibly with the help of American troops — while the Palestinians who live there should leave, a stunning proposal that would dramatically reorient the Middle East and subject a population of more than a million to further displacement.
05:20 - Source: CNN
9 hr 59 min ago
Republican and Democrats alike express skepticism over Trump's Gaza plan
From CNN’s Ted Barrett and Morgan Rimmer
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands following a joint news conference at the White House on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands following a joint news conference at the White House on Tuesday. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Asked Tuesday night about President Donald Trump’s remarks that the US will “take over” the Gaza Strip, GOP senators largely refused to comment as they dashed to-and-from floor votes, including Trump ally Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch.
Others expressed some skepticism.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called it an “interesting proposal” but also “problematic.”
“We’ll see what our Arab friends say about that. I think most South Carolinians would probably not be excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza. I think that might be problematic. But I’ll keep an open mind,” he said.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said that “there are probably a couple of kinks in that Slinky, but I’ll have to take a look at the statement.”
“I don’t know what to make of it,” said Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. “Check back with me tomorrow, that’s a good idea.”
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut called the idea “crazy, and you can quote me.” He said it would “blow apart the Abraham Accords,” adding that “all the progress that we have made including the brave and costly battles that Israel has waged would be effectively undercut by this crazy notion.”
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democratic on the Foreign Relations Committee, said, “No, I don’t think it’s something that is in America’s interest.”
She added: “This idea, I think it fails to recognize the need to have a Palestinian state, and the fact that until we address the concerns of the Palestinians, there will continue to be conflict in the region.”
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, another key Democratic member of the committee, also criticized the plan.
“You can put me down as this is between offensive and insane and dangerous and foolish,” he said.
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