Stunned into silence? After Trump’s unprecedented Gaza comments, only Saudi Arabia, PA & Hamas publicly oppose him

U.S. President Donald Trump stunned the world on Tuesday by suggesting in a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. take control of the Gaza Strip.

He also reiterated that the population should relocate to countries with "humanitarian hearts."

Among Middle Eastern countries, only Saudi Arabia responded immediately.

The other nations’ leaders apparently preferred to carefully weigh their response to Trump’s surprising proposals, which, unlike his first comments suggesting Gaza’s population should be relocated, were scripted and detailed.

By the time of publication, shortly after 10:30 a.m. in Israel, there were no official responses from any other country in the region. Several hours later, Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty "reaffirmed Egypt’s steadfast commitment to support the Palestinian people," and said he discussed early recovery and reconstruction plans in Gaza with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mostafa.

Speaking on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, PLO Secretary Hussein Al-Sheikh said he rejected “all calls for the displacement of the Palestinian people from their homeland. Here we were born, here we lived and here we will remain, and we appreciate the Arab position committed to these constants.”

Hours later, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas expressed his “strong rejection” of Trump’s proposal, dubbing it a call "to seize the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians outside their homeland.”

Abbas’s office added that “legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable.”

In a written statement released overnight by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the kingdom affirmed that its position on the establishment of a Palestinian state remained “firm and unwavering.”

It noted that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) publicly reiterated this stance during a speech last September, “emphasized that Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts” to establish a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem, and “will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that.”

Before the closed-door meeting with Netanyahu, Trump told reporters that Saudi Arabia was not insisting on a Palestinian state as a precondition for making peace with Israel.

“Everyone is demanding one thing – peace,” Trump asserted.

During a joint press conference later on Tuesday, Netanyahu said an Israeli victory leading to the end of the Gaza War would “usher in the peace with Saudi Arabia and with others.”

“I think the Saudi leadership is interested in achieving it,” he added.

The Saudi statement did not directly address Trump’s comments or even mention him, instead reiterating long-held positions regarding the Palestinian issue.

The Saudi Kingdom stated that it unequivocally rejects “any infringement” on the Palestinians’ “legitimate rights,” listing “Israeli settlement policies, land annexation,” or displacements as dangers to them.

The statement noted that the international community “has a duty” to alleviate the Palestinians’ suffering, “who will remain steadfast on their land.”

The only mention of the U.S. came in the last sentence of the statement, which affirmed that achieving peace was only possible while Palestinians retained their rights, “as has been previously clarified to both the former and current U.S. administrations.”

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters he thought Trump’s statements were “ridiculous” and “absurd,” warning that they are “capable of igniting the region.”

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is the second largest terror group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas, accused Trump of “bullying” the people in Gaza, calling his comments “racist and deceptive.”

The group stressed that “15 months of merciless bombardment with American weapons failed to force the people of Gaza to leave their land.”

Last Saturday, al-Sheikh and the chief diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar met in Cairo to discuss Trump's idea that civilians in Gaza should be relocated.

In a letter sent to the United States, they stressed their intention to cooperate with Trump’s “vision of peace” for the region while emphasizing that a two-state solution would be the best way of doing so and for providing security for Israelis and Palestinians.

In one of the few other statements opposing Trump made available on Wednesday morning, U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who has Palestinian roots, asserted, “Palestinians aren’t going anywhere.”

“This president can only spew this fanatical bullshit because of bipartisan support in Congress for funding genocide and ethnic cleansing. It's time for my two-state solution colleagues to speak up,” Tlaib wrote on 𝕏.

Somewhat surprisingly, the first official statement on the issue came from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said his government still supports a two-state solution in the Middle East.

“Australia’s position is the same as it was this morning, as it was last year,” Albanese said at a news conference. “The Australian government supports on a bipartisan basis, a two-state solution.”

China weighed in some hours later, stating it was opposed to the "forced transfer" of Palestinians.

"China has always maintained that Palestinian rule over Palestinians is the basic principle of the post-war governance of Gaza, and we are opposed to the forced transfer of the residents of Gaza," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian said at a press conference.