Trump Declares Palestinians Would Not Be Allowed Back in Gaza As He Continues Plans for 'Real Estate Development'

President Donald Trump doubled down on his controversial plans for Gaza's future, declaring Palestinians displaced by the conflict would not be allowed to return and discussed the "real estate development" of "beautiful" and "safe" communities for them elsewhere.

"We'll build beautiful communities for the 1.9 million people," Trump said in a recent interview with Fox News' Bret Baier. "Safe communities could be five, six, could be two, but we'll build safe communities a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is. In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future, it would be a beautiful piece of land."

Baier pressed Trump on whether Palestinians would have the right to return. "No, they wouldn't, because they're going to have much better housing, much better," Trump responded. "I'm talking about building a permanent place for them, because if they have to return now, it will be years before you could ever—it's not habitable. It will be years before it could happen. I'm talking about starting to build, and I think I could make a deal with Jordan, I think I could make a deal with Egypt, you know, we give them billions and billions of dollars a year."

Trump's comments come on the heels of his previous statements suggesting that Gaza should be "turned over to the United States" for redevelopment. He has floated ideas of transforming the war-torn region into "one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth," even likening it to "the Riviera of the Middle East."

His proposals have drawn significant backlash from lawmakers and international leaders. Critics, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, have labeled his ideas as "ethnic cleansing." Even some Republicans, like Sen. Lindsey Graham, have expressed skepticism about using US resources to rebuild Gaza under Trump's vision.