International
Trump says that the US will control Gaza and Hamas responds that it will not allow it
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States “will take control” of the Gaza Strip in the long term and rebuild it, turning it into the new “Middle East River”, after permanently resettling the Palestinians in other countries.
“I don’t want to be funny or smart, but the Middle East Riviera… This could be so magnificent,” Trump said at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
After this announcement, the former Israeli Minister of National Security, the settler and anti-Arab Itamar Ben Gvir, urged Netanyahu to announce “the adoption of the plan as soon as possible” to expel the Palestinians from Gaza.
Hamas, for its part, has said that it will not allow the plans announced by Trump to be fulfilled and described his proposal as “racist.”
“The (Palestinian) people who have stood firm for 15 months (of war) against the most powerful military machine and the most criminal Army, and who thwarted the attempt to displace it, will remain attached to their land and will not accept that plan no matter the cost,” Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al Qanou said in a statement.
“The American racist position is consistent with the position of the Israeli extreme right to displace our people and liquidate their cause,” continued Qanou, who called on the international community to reject Trump’s statements and support the Palestinians’ right to self-determination in the face of Israeli occupation.
China has expressed its opposition to the position of the US president and has reiterated the need to seek a path towards a “two-state solution” while the Kremlin has preferred to stay on the sidelines.
“We oppose the forced displacement of the residents of the Gaza Strip. China hopes that all parties will accept the ceasefire and that a two-state political solution will be returned,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian said at a press conference.
The Chinese spokesman added in the daily appearance, the first after a week suspended by the Lunar New Year holidays, that the parties involved must “push the Palestinian issue back towards the right path.”
“That involves an arrangement based on the ‘two-state solution’ that aims at lasting peace in the Middle East,” he warned.
On the other hand, Russia, with which the United States maintains a tense relationship, refrained from criticizing the proposal of the US president, although he clarified that they “have heard” it and that they have also followed the statements in this regard from Egypt or Jordan, countries that also oppose the intentions of the tycoon.
For his part, the president of the Palestinian National Authority (ANP), Mahmud Abbas, rejected the proposal and recalled that the enclave is an “integral part” of the Palestinian State.
“We will not allow the rights of our people, for which we have been fighting for decades and for whom we have made great sacrifices, to be violated,” Abbas said in a message collected by the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa.
In his message, Abbas said that the rights of the Palestinians are not negotiable, and that no one can make decisions about the future of the Palestinians except themselves.
The president, who also chairs the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), also thanked Saudi Arabia for its rejection of the forced expulsion of Gazans, and asked the UN to take “urgent” measures to protect international resolutions, which recognize the right to return of Palestinians displaced by Israel.
Huséin al Sheij, the general secretary of the PLO and Abbas’s right-hand man, also expressed his rejection of Trump’s plan and said that the two-state solution, one Israeli and one Palestinian, is the only guarantee of peace in the Middle East.
“Here we were born, here we live and here we will die,” the official said in a message.
Trump did not rule out deploying US troops to support the reconstruction of Gaza and assured that the US will do “whatever it takes” to complete that project.
This is the first time that Trump, who campaigned with the promise of taking the US out of the wars in the Middle East, speaks of a direct long-term involvement in Gaza and also the first time he suggests that the Palestinians should be permanently resettled in other countries.
Specifically, at the press conference, a journalist asked him what this US occupation would consist of and if it would be prolonged, to which Trump responded in the affirmative and said that he contemplates a “long-term ownership position” on the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinians claim the Gaza Strip as part of a future state along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem, so the displacement of the two million people living in the enclave and their real estate development by the US would put an end to the concept of the Palestinian State as it has been conceived so far.
Asked about it, Trump avoided expressing support for the “two-state solution”, which has been the traditional US policy on the conflict for decades, and reiterated his idea that the people of Gaza be resettled in other countries.
Since his return to power on January 20, Trump has reiterated this proposal on several occasions and insisted that Jordan and Egypt should accept more Palestinian refugees from Gaza, an idea flatly rejected by those two countries, as well as by the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League.
For the first time, in statements to the press at the beginning of his meeting with Netanyahu in the Oval Office, Trump suggested that this resettlement should be “permanent” and tried to frame it as a humanitarian measure, stating that it was impossible to believe that someone would want to remain in a territory devastated by war, which he described as a “demolition zone”.
During the meeting, in addition to the future of Gaza, both leaders talked about the fragile ceasefire with Hamas, the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and the growing tension with Iran.
The visit was an international endorsement for Netanyahu, who left Israel for the first time since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him in November, a decision that Washington has strongly condemned and whose jurisdiction it does not recognize.
Netanyahu took from Trump not only comments that satisfy the Israeli far-right, but also concrete actions in support of Israel.
Before meeting with Netanyahu, Trump signed an executive order to continue suspending funds to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) and end US participation in the United Nations Human Rights Council, which Netanyahu accuses of being partial against Israel.
International
Iranian leader warns foreign powers have “no place” in Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said Thursday that the Persian Gulf is entering a new era marked by a “bright” future without the presence of the United States in the region.
His remarks came during the commemoration of Persian Gulf Day, amid ongoing regional tensions following recent military confrontations involving Iran, the United States, and Israel.
“Today, two months after the largest military buildup and aggression by the bullies of the world in the region and the humiliating defeat of the United States, a new chapter is being written for the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” Khamenei stated.
The Iranian leader insisted that the future of the region would be free from American influence and focused instead on the internal development and prosperity of Gulf nations.
“By the power and strength of God, the bright future of the Persian Gulf region will be a future without the United States and dedicated to the progress, welfare, and prosperity of its nations,” he said.
Khamenei also questioned the effectiveness of U.S. military bases in the region, arguing that they do not provide security even for Washington’s allies.
“Foreigners who come from thousands of miles away and commit evil and malicious acts have no place there except at the bottom of its waters,” he declared.
In addition, the Iranian leader defended new measures being prepared by Tehran to regulate maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, including fees for vessels passing through the strategic waterway. According to Khamenei, the policies would generate economic benefits and greater stability for the region.
Regional tensions remain high following the conflict that erupted on February 28 between the United States and Israel against Iran, leading to strategic blockades in the Strait of Hormuz, a route through which nearly 20% of the world’s oil supply previously passed. The situation has disrupted maritime trade and contributed to rising global oil prices.
Central America
U.S. and Regional Allies Back Panama Amid Dispute With China
The United States, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago issued a joint statement in support of Panama’s sovereignty, arguing that China’s recent actions represent an attempt to politicize maritime trade and undermine the sovereignty of nations in the hemisphere.
“We are closely monitoring China’s selective economic pressure and recent actions affecting vessels flying the Panamanian flag,” the statement released Tuesday said. “Panama is a pillar of our maritime trading system and, as such, must remain free from undue external pressure.”
The statement comes amid growing tensions surrounding the Panama Canal and the operation of key ports linked to global trade.
At the end of January, Panama’s Supreme Court invalidated the legal framework supporting the 1997 concession that granted Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, the right to operate the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals located on the Pacific and Atlantic entrances of the Panama Canal.
The ruling followed mounting pressure from the United States to curb Chinese influence around the strategic waterway, through which roughly 5% of global maritime trade passes.
CK Hutchison, which managed the ports for nearly three decades, rejected the court’s decision and accused Panamanian authorities of illegally confiscating its assets. The company has launched international arbitration proceedings against Panama, seeking more than $2 billion in damages.
Following the court ruling, reports emerged of increased detentions and inspections of Panamanian-flagged vessels in China, actions widely viewed as retaliatory measures.
On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the joint statement as “completely unfounded and misleading,” accusing the United States of politicizing port operations and warning that Beijing would take steps to protect its interests in Panama.
International
King Charles III Says U.S.-UK Alliance Is “Irreplaceable and Unbreakable”
King Charles III of the United Kingdom reaffirmed the strength of the British-American relationship on Tuesday during a speech before the United States Congress, describing the alliance between the two nations as “irreplaceable and unbreakable.”
The address, delivered at the Capitol, marked the first speech by a British monarch before Congress since Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 and comes at a time of political tensions between Donald Trump’s administration and the Labour government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“As President Trump himself observed during his state visit to Britain last autumn, the bond of kinship and identity between the United States and the United Kingdom is invaluable and eternal. It is irreplaceable and unbreakable,” the king said.
While reflecting on the upcoming 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, which will be commemorated this year, Charles III stated that the partnership between the two countries “was born out of disagreement, but is no less strong because of it.”
The monarch emphasized the democratic values shared by both nations and noted that major global changes have occurred whenever the two allies found common ground.
“When we have found that way to agree, great changes have taken place not only for the benefit of our peoples, but for all peoples,” he said.
King Charles also quoted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who recently described the relationship as “an indispensable alliance.”
Concluding his speech, the monarch described the shared history of the United States and the United Kingdom as “a story of reconciliation, renewal, and an extraordinary partnership.”
He added that Washington and London have forged “one of the most consequential alliances in human history.”
“I pray with all my heart that our alliance continues to defend our shared values, together with our partners in Europe, the Commonwealth, and around the world, and that we ignore calls urging us to become increasingly isolationist,” Charles III stated.
The king ended by urging both nations to “recommit to one another in selfless service to our peoples and to all peoples of the world.”
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