Australia PM: Middle East policy unchanged amid Trump’s Gaza plan
By
Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Feb 2025 08:36
4 Min Read
Australia's PM reaffirms support for a "two-state" solution, rejecting Trump's Gaza takeover proposal and emphasizing humanitarian aid.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gestures during a press conference in Sydney, Australia, December 12, 2024. (AP)
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reaffirmed Wednesday that the country’s stance on the Middle East remains unchanged after US President Donald Trump proposed a US takeover of Gaza.
This comes shortly after Trump pushed for Washignton's "take over" of the Gaza Strip, during a joint news conference held with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it. And be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on this site," Trump said.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that Egypt and Jordan take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza, referring to the Strip as a "demolition site" due to months of Israeli bombardment. The war has left most of Gaza's 2.3 million residents displaced.
Albanese stated that Australia's support for a "two-state" solution, which envisions the creation of a Palestinian state alongside "Israel", "remains the same." He added, "We have had a long-standing bipartisan position for a two-state solution."
When asked about Trump's recent Gaza proposal, Albanese declined to provide a "daily commentary", emphasizing, "We have not received any request regarding the rebuilding of Gaza."
The prime minister stated, "What we have said, though, clearly we've supported a ceasefire. We've supported hostages being released. And we've supported aid getting into Gaza."
He reinforced that Australia’s position has consistently supported both a "Palestinian and Israeli state" living "in peace and security."
"Australia’s position is the same as it was this morning, as it was last year, and it was 10 years ago," he concluded.
Although Trump’s rhetoric was blunt, the idea of forcibly displacing Palestinians from their homeland has been a recurring theme in Israeli discourse since the establishment of the occupation. Often referred to with terminology like "transfer" or "incentivized immigration", these terms have long served as a facade for what is, in effect, ethnic cleansing. The strategy has relied on making life in the occupied territories increasingly intolerable, pushing millions of Palestinians into permanent displacement under the guise of voluntary relocation.
Now, Trump sets his sights on the ravaged Palestinian territories for a new urban development project, a plan that, if realized, would result in the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
Meanwhile, a smug Netanyahu said that Trump's plan for the US to take control of the Gaza Strip would "change history". The Israeli prime minister said, "It's worth paying attention to" Trump's ideas on Gaza.
The US president further explained that he expected the US to take "long-term ownership" of the Gaza Strip, saying that it would create "thousands of jobs" in the region. He also called for the displacement of Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip, after previously suggesting that they be housed in Egypt and Jordan on a permanent basis.
He said that he would not allow for "the rebuilding and occupation" of Gaza by the same people, instead floating the idea of a US takeover of the besieged territory.
"It should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have really stood there and fought for it and lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there," he said.
"I do see a long-term ownership position, and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East," Trump told reporters.
"This was not a decision made lightly, everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land," he boasted.
The US president even went as far as saying that the Gaza Strip could become "the Riviera of the Middle East."
Despite regional governments, parties, and Palestinians rejecting the displacement of Palestinians Trump continued to tout the idea, making it the focal point of Tuesday's meeting with Netanyahu.
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