Hamas has strongly rejected a reported plan by former U.S President Donald Trump that proposes placing the war-torn Gaza Strip under U.S trusteeship and relocating its residents.
According to a Washington Post report published Sunday, the plan under consideration by the Trump camp envisions the U.S administering Gaza for at least a decade, during which the territory would be rebuilt into a high-tech hub and tourism destination.
The proposal also suggests relocating Gaza’s roughly two million residents, either “voluntarily” to other countries or into controlled zones within Gaza itself.
Reacting on Monday, Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim described the idea as both unacceptable and outrageous.
“Gaza is not for sale,” Naim declared.
“It is part of the greater Palestinian homeland.”
The proposal reportedly comes from a 38-page document titled Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust (GREAT Trust), which outlines a controversial redevelopment blueprint.
Landowners in Gaza would be given digital tokens in exchange for rights to their land, which could be redeemed for homes in new “AI-powered smart cities,” or used to start new lives elsewhere.
The plan builds on Trump’s previous remarks from February 2025, when he suggested transforming Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” under U.S control, after relocating Palestinians.
That comment drew swift backlash across the Arab world, especially from Palestinians who view any such displacement as a modern-day echo of the Nakba, the mass expulsion during the creation of Israel in 1948.
Another unnamed Hamas official told AFP that the group had not been contacted about the plan and dismissed it as “worthless and unjust.”
“We reject all these schemes that seek to erase our people and keep the occupier on our land,” the official said.
On the ground in Gaza, residents expressed a range of emotions mostly anger and disbelief.
Qasem Habib, 37, living in a tent in Gaza City’s devastated Al-Rimal neighborhood, said:
“This proposal is nonsense. If the U.S. wants to help Gaza, they should pressure [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to stop the killing and end the war.”
Another resident, Wael Azzam, 60, from Al-Mawasi near Khan Yunis, said he hadn’t heard the full details but was already skeptical.
“Even without knowing it, it is a failed plan. We were born and raised here. Would Trump agree to be pushed out of his own home?”
However, Ahmed Al-Akkawi, 30, took a more pragmatic view, saying he would support the initiative if it brought lasting peace and a better life.
“The plan is excellent if it ends the war and we’re given the chance to live in Europe with guarantees for rebuilding Gaza.”
As of Monday, the U.S State Department had not responded to request for comment on the report.
The proposal, if true, would represent a dramatic and controversial shift in international policy towards Gaza.
