Mideast Powers Reject Trump Proposal to Take Over Gaza

DUBAI—Major Middle East powers rejected President Trump’s surprise proposal for the U.S. to take control of Gaza, redevelop the enclave and move Palestinians out permanently, pointing to the challenges ahead for a notion that breaks with decades of U.S. and international policy toward the region.

Saudi Arabia, which the U.S. hopes to lead into a deal to normalize ties with Israel, said Wednesday it rejected any efforts to displace Palestinians from their land and reaffirmed support for a Palestinian state. It called its position nonnegotiable and said it wouldn’t establish diplomatic relations with Israel unless that goal was met. 

The foreign minister of Turkey, a NATO member, called Trump’s idea “absurd” and said the country opposed displacement of Palestinians or any “initiatives that try to take the people of Gaza out of the equation.”

Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Palestinian leaders in recent weeks have also rejected the idea of relocating Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. In addition to raising moral objections, they have pointed to the security risks and instability that could come with moving a population with armed elements into countries already grappling with their own issues.