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Trump’s Gaza Stunner Builds on His Expansionist Aims 

President Donald Trump meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP) 
President Donald Trump meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP) 
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Trump’s Gaza Stunner Builds on His Expansionist Aims 

President Donald Trump meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP) 
President Donald Trump meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP) 

President Donald Trump’s jaw-dropping statement that he would like the US to take control of and redevelop the Gaza Strip might have sounded like it came from nowhere, but it was in keeping with his new administration’s expansionist ambitions.

Since Trump's return to the White House a little more than two weeks ago, his "America First" approach seems to have morphed into "America More," with the president fixated on acquiring new territory even after campaigning on pledges to keep the nation out of foreign entanglements and "forever wars."

Trump raised the possibility of the US owning Gaza during a Tuesday press conference at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said he envisioned building a resort where international communities could live in harmony.

The casual proposal sent diplomatic shockwaves across the Middle East and around the globe, but was characteristic of how Trump has approached his second term – treating ties with close allies such as Canada and Mexico as largely transactional relationships and viewing the world as one large business opportunity. That view was underlined by his proposal on Monday to launch a US sovereign wealth fund.

He has raised the possibility of the country taking back the Panama Canal, proposed the US wrest Greenland from Denmark and repeatedly suggested that Canada should be absorbed as the 51st US state. Reuters/Ipsos polling shows little public support for these ideas, even in Trump's Republican Party.

At the same time, he has threatened Canada – along with Mexico – with economic penalties if they don't accede to Trump’s border-security demands.

Trump also raised the prospect of a resettlement of the more than 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza, suggesting it had become uninhabitable after nearly 16 months of war between Israel and Hamas. Human rights advocates deplore such ideas as ethnic cleansing. Any forced displacement would likely violate international law.

At Tuesday’s press conference with Netanyahu, Trump spoke like the real estate developer he once was while acknowledging the hardships the Palestinian residents of Gaza have had to endure.

"You'll make that into an international, unbelievable place. I think the potential and the Gaza Strip is unbelievable," Trump said. "And I think the entire world, representatives from all over the world, will be there, and they'll live there. Palestinians also, Palestinians will live there. Many people will live there."

Trump's son-in-law and former aide, Jared Kushner, last year described Gaza as "valuable" waterfront property.

Netanyahu praised Trump for "thinking outside the box," but neither leader addressed the legality of what Trump was proposing.

But Trump may not be serious about a US stake in Gaza, said Will Wechsler, senior director of Middle East programs at the Atlantic Council. He may be doing what he often does, taking extreme positions as a bargaining strategy, Wechsler said.

"President Trump is following his regular playbook: shift the goalposts to increase his leverage in anticipation of a negotiation to come," Wechsler said. "In this case it’s a negotiation about the future of the Palestinian Authority."

HARD TO SEE A 'HAPPY ENDING'

But Trump’s suggestion would seem to dismiss the idea of a two-state solution in favor of some sort of new paradigm that involves the US perhaps serving as a buffer in the region.

"Wow," said Jon Alterman, a former State Department official who now heads the Middle East program at the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies. Gazans were unlikely to voluntarily leave the region, he said.

"Many Gazans descended from Palestinians who fled parts of present-day Israel and have never been able to return to their previous homes. I’m skeptical many would be willing to leave even a shattered Gaza," he said. "It's hard to me to imagine a happy ending for a massive redevelopment of a depopulated Gaza."

The Palestinian Hamas movement came to power in Gaza in 2007 after Israeli soldiers and settlers withdrew in 2005, but the enclave is still deemed Israeli-occupied territory by the United Nations. Israel and Egypt control access to Gaza.

The United Nations and the United States have long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war with neighboring Arab states.

Dozens of protesters gathered near the White House on Tuesday to protest Netanyahu's visit, with the demonstrations continuing after Trump’s remarks on Gaza were relayed to the crowd. Netanyahu steadfastly opposes a Palestinian state.

"Trump, Bibi belong in jail, Palestine is not for sale," the demonstrators chanted.

As a presidential candidate, Trump largely spoke in isolationist terms about the need to end foreign wars and strengthen borders. He suggested Europe largely take on the cause of Ukraine in its war with Russia rather than the United States.

His early efforts in the White House have largely been focused on deporting migrants in the country illegally and shrinking the size of the federal government – two tenets of his campaign agenda.

Expansionism was not part of his rhetoric and there may be some political risk for Trump and his Republican allies. According to Reuters/Ipsos polling, voters are not on board.

Just 16% of US adults supported the idea of the US pressuring Denmark to sell Greenland in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on Jan. 20-21 following Trump's inauguration. Some 29% supported the idea of retaking control of the Panama Canal.

Just 21% agreed with the idea that the US has the right to expand its territory in the Western Hemisphere and just 9% of respondents, including 15% of Republicans, said the US should use military force to secure new territories.

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Amr Moussa to Asharq Al-Awsat: Gaddafi Initially Treated Me as an American Spy, Then Things Changed

Hosni Mubarak was able to manage the difficult relationship with Moammar al-Gaddafi. (AFP)
Hosni Mubarak was able to manage the difficult relationship with Moammar al-Gaddafi. (AFP)
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Amr Moussa to Asharq Al-Awsat: Gaddafi Initially Treated Me as an American Spy, Then Things Changed

Hosni Mubarak was able to manage the difficult relationship with Moammar al-Gaddafi. (AFP)
Hosni Mubarak was able to manage the difficult relationship with Moammar al-Gaddafi. (AFP)

In the third installment of his interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, former Egyptian Foreign Minister and ex-Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa discusses various experiences with Arab leaders, emphasizing the nuances of diplomacy in a turbulent region.

Moussa recalled that former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak “was neither bloodthirsty nor a pharaoh, nor did he try to be one.” He points to a famous remark by President Anwar Sadat, who once said: “Gamal (Abdel Nasser) and I are the last of the pharaohs.”

The Gaddafi encounter

Reflecting on his complex interactions with Libyan leader Moammar al-Gaddafi, Moussa admitted that the beginning was anything but smooth. “When I first met Gaddafi, he treated me as if I were an American spy. He wouldn’t look at me directly, only speaking while facing another direction. It was very theatrical,” Moussa said. He recalled this behavior with a certain amusement, treating it almost like a game: “I would wager with myself before our meetings—will he speak to me directly this time, or not?”

Initially, rumors had reached Gaddafi that Moussa had been sent with a US agenda, though he had actually been Egypt’s ambassador to the UN in New York, not Washington. “But once he observed how I performed in my role, he began to change his mind. Eventually, he would ask President Mubarak if I could join their private discussions.”

Moussa recalled a specific instance in Tobruk, where he was invited by Gaddafi to sit at a table with him and Mubarak to discuss a matter of importance. He knew this would stir unease among others present, but the conversation went ahead regardless. This type of scene, he noted, happened several times.

Hosni Mubarak, Moammar al-Gaddafi and Amr Moussa at the Arab summit in Sirte in 2010. (AFP)

Diplomatic drama in a tent

When Gaddafi visited Cairo during Moussa’s tenure as foreign minister, the Libyan leader insisted on setting up his trademark tent in the gardens of the Qubba Palace. Though the palace was fully equipped, Gaddafi would receive guests only in the tent. “At that time, he still saw me as a US spy,” Moussa said, “so he avoided looking at me during our meeting. He inspected every corner of the tent—except the one where I was sitting.”

Despite Gaddafi’s sometimes abrasive behavior, Moussa conceded that the Libyan leader was intelligent and unique. “He was eccentric, yes, but he had a cleverness about him. His actions often carried a deeper rationale, even if misguided.”

Gaddafi’s erratic rule extended to his own ministers. Moussa noted how even highly regarded officials like Abdul Rahman Shalgham and Ali Treki were subject to his whims. “If Gaddafi was displeased with something, he might simply tell you to stay home—and that could mean house arrest for years. Yet, your salary would still arrive at your door.”

A moment of humor

One incident stood out. Libya was scheduled to host the Arab summit and had failed to pay its dues to the Arab League, and as Secretary-General, Moussa received an envoy from Gaddafi carrying a list of demands. Moussa didn’t even read the letter; he simply locked it in a drawer. “When the envoy asked what to report back, I told him exactly that,” Moussa laughed.

Soon after, Gaddafi summoned him to Sirte. As Moussa waited in the tent, Gaddafi’s secretary, Bashir Saleh, walked by singing an old Arabic poem: “You seem tearless, and patience is your nature.” Moussa quipped: “Tell the leader he’s not tearless—he’s payment-less!” Saleh shared the joke with Gaddafi, who burst into laughter and finally paid Libya’s dues.

Later, during an Arab summit in Libya, Gaddafi displayed a surprising sense of responsibility. Moussa recalled a heated moment when Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh demanded immediate action on forming a pan-Arab army. Gaddafi gently interrupted: “Take it easy, Ali.” That phrase—“Take it easy, Ali”—spoke volumes, according to Moussa. “It revealed Gaddafi’s desire to manage tension even among volatile leaders.”

On Hosni Mubarak and the ‘pharaoh’ myth

Asked if Mubarak ever resembled the authoritarian archetype of a “pharaoh” as Russians view their “czars,” Moussa was firm: “No, not Mubarak. Maybe Sadat had some traits—he liked symbolism. But Mubarak? He wasn’t violent, nor bloodthirsty. Yes, he could be firm, but he didn’t revel in bloodshed.”

Moussa clarified that while Mubarak might have approved harsh punishments as president, it never escalated to a murderous level. “Perhaps there were isolated incidents, especially within the prison system, but it wasn’t part of Mubarak’s character to govern through violence. He wasn’t built that way.”

Saddam Hussein meets with Amr Moussa in Iraq in January 2002. (AFP)

The song that stirred controversy

When the Egyptian folk singer Shaaban Abdel Rahim sang “I hate Israel, and I love Amr Moussa,” it caused a stir. Moussa downplayed the drama. “I don’t think Mubarak himself was offended. He was the president; no foreign minister would rival him in popularity. But some people in the surrounding circles—not necessarily his inner circle—were irked.”

Eventually, another version of the song emerged, replacing Moussa’s name with Mubarak’s. “But it was the original that made waves. Even a diplomat from Latin America once told me, ‘We’re dancing to this song here!’”

A difficult meeting with Saddam Hussein

One of the most tense encounters Moussa ever had was with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. After being elected Secretary-General of the Arab League in 2001, Moussa set out to visit all Arab leaders. He deliberately left Saddam until the end, knowing the sensitivities involved.

In January 2002, Moussa visited Saddam at a small palace. He carried a message from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan regarding weapons inspections. “I told Saddam that Annan was open to negotiations, and that continued confrontation with the US would lead nowhere. At some point, no one would stand by him.”

Moussa asked Saddam directly: “Do you possess nuclear weapons?” Saddam answered, “No.” Moussa pressed him again: “Are you absolutely sure?” Saddam repeated, “No.” This made Moussa’s deputy, Ahmed Ben Helli, visibly nervous. “He probably thought we weren’t going to walk out of there.”

Moussa then asked why Iraq objected to the UN inspectors. Saddam responded: “These people don’t just inspect nuclear sites. They ask civilians about food supplies, their opinions on the government. What business is that of theirs?”

Moussa promised to report this to Annan, which he did. Negotiations resumed between Iraq and the UN, but history took its course and the US-led invasion followed.

Asked if he felt fortunate never to have served directly under a figure like Gaddafi, Moussa answered without hesitation: “Absolutely. I saw how respected men like Shalgham and Treki were sidelined. You could be a top official one day and under house arrest the next.”