Trump’s call for U.S. control of Gaza draws rebuke from Minnesota activists and academics

President Donald Trump’s unexpected call for the United States to assume control of war-torn Gaza, resettle Palestinians and turn the land into a real estate development project drew widespread criticism from Minnesota activists Wednesday, who called the plan as disturbing as it is absurd.

“Gaza is not for sale,” said Maysoon Wazwaz, an activist and member of the Twin Cities chapter of the American Muslims for Palestine. “We will continue to resist and fight against foreign control that has no benefit for the people of Palestine.”

Trump suggested Tuesday that the United States take ownership of the enclave bordering the Mediterranean Sea during a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. Trump called for the U.S. to dismantle unexploded bombs and other weapons, clear away ruins left by 15 months of bombing, level the land and create an economic development that the president claimed would create jobs.

[More: Protesters march at Minnesota State Capitol to push back against Trump administration.]

The plan also calls for Gaza’s inhabitants to be relocated en masse to a yet-to-be-named place, though Trump suggested Egypt or Jordan.

“It’s absurd that this is what they are going to do,” said Taher Herzallah, a University of Minnesota professor who is pursuing a doctorate in American studies with a focus on American-Muslim politics. “It is just all one giant absurdity unfolding in front of our eyes. I feel a deep sense of dread of what’s to come.”

Herzallah said 70% of the people living in Palestine were descendants of those displaced in 1948 when Israel was created. The United Nations classifies about 2.1 million of Gaza’s residents as refugees.

Thousands who were forced to flee Gaza over the past 15 months during the Hamas-Israel war have just begun returning to their decimated homes now that a tenuous ceasefire is in place.

“Everybody thought things were well and dandy, and obviously it is not,” Wazwaz said. “This is something horrifying, but expected,” adding that in her view both Republicans and Democrats have had their hand in the region’s turmoil. “We have full right to self-determination.”

Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota, said he appreciates Trump’s efforts to end the war, but remains cautious about next steps.

“Palestinians don’t plan to leave Gaza and they see Gaza as part of their future,” Hussein said.

Hussein added that Trump’s plan needs to be fleshed out, and must keep Palestinians in Gaza. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday said the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary, adding that it was “evil to suggest that people should live in such dire conditions.”

Hussein implored Trump to meet with Palestinian Americans and the Muslim community as he forges ahead with his plan for the Middle East.

Trump’s plan has already drawn criticism and rebukes from many of America’s allies and other global powers including Russia, Saudi Arabia and China.

The new developments, Herzallah says, show that America is firmly behind Israel’s plan to permanently force Palestinians out of their native homeland, and it’s time to push back against the Trump administration.

In the coming weeks and months, Herzallah said people with Palestinian roots and their supporters would be back on the streets of Minneapolis and across the metro.

“Ceasefire or not, this work needs to continue,” he said. “People are enraged.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.