President Donald Trump suggested that U.S. control of the Gaza Strip could be a stabilizing force in the region. “If the United States controlled and owned the Gaza Strip, it would be a good thing,” Trump said, in what may be the most direct challenge yet to decades of failed international policy toward Gaza.
While his comment stunned some, it reflects Trump’s longstanding approach: reject fantasy diplomacy and focus on real solutions that remove terror and rebuild stability.
From Terror Zone to Prosperous Hub
For years, Gaza has been synonymous with terror. Under Hamas rule, the strip became a launchpad for rockets, tunnels, kidnappings, and systematic abuse of its own population. Since the October 7 massacre—when Hamas-led terrorists butchered over 1,100 Israelis and kidnapped hundreds more—Gaza has been the center of global attention, not for peacebuilding, but for terror and war.
Trump’s vision flips the script. Instead of tolerating a failed terrorist enclave, he envisions Gaza as a U.S.-led model of security, economic development, and peace—a plan reminiscent of his February 2025 “Gaza Transfer Plan,” which proposed the removal of Hamas and its extremist supporters and the rebuilding of Gaza as the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Why U.S. Control Would Be a Game-Changer
Trump’s idea is grounded in strategic logic. With U.S. oversight:
- Terrorist infrastructure would be dismantled completely.
- Iran’s influence would be purged from the region.
- Gaza’s location could become an asset, not a liability, in Mediterranean trade and energy routes.
- Extremist indoctrination could be replaced with education, innovation, and investment.
Unlike the UN’s endless resolutions or Europe’s failed aid programs, U.S. leadership would bring enforcement, accountability, and a clear end to the reign of Hamas.
Crushing the Myths, Defending the Future
Critics will argue that such a plan is “colonial” or “imperial.” But what has international appeasement achieved? Gaza under Hamas has become a graveyard of opportunity, flooded with weapons, radicalism, and misery. Trump’s approach doesn’t seek to occupy Gaza—it seeks to liberate it from Iran’s death grip and give its people a future beyond jihad.
Under Trump’s vision, Gaza wouldn’t belong to terrorists—it would belong to civilization. It would be rebuilt, repurposed, and reintegrated into a regional framework that values peace and prosperity over martyrdom and missiles.
A New Era in the Middle East?
Trump’s statement may shock traditional diplomats, but it resonates with those who have watched the Gaza tragedy unfold for decades. The war forced by the October 7 massacre proved once and for all that coexistence with Hamas is impossible. Gaza must be transformed—and who better to lead that transformation than the United States?
As Trump put it: “If the U.S. controlled and owned the Gaza Strip, it would be a good thing.” For Israel, for the region, and for every innocent soul trapped under the boot of terrorism—that may be the most truthful and practical solution yet.
