Reactions to Gaza plans: Senator: Trump "has completely lost his mind"

ntv.de Reactions to Gaza plans: Senator: Trump "has completely lost his mind" 2 hours • 4 minutes reading time President Trump wants the USA to take over the Gaza Strip - if necessary with the help of US troops. The plans have been met with harsh criticism and irritation: While one senator warns of "ethnic cleansing", another fears the "death of thousands of US soldiers". Expects fatal consequences for the Middle East region and the US military: US Senator Chris Murphy. US President Donald Trump's move to the Gaza Strip has been met with immense criticism. A representative of the terrorist organization Hamas - Israel's opponent in the Gaza war - rejected the proposal in an initial statement. The people in the Gaza Strip would not accept the plan, said Sami Abu Suhri. Saudi Arabia declared that without its own Palestinian state there would be no normalization of relations with Israel. In the USA, the Democrats are warning of deadly consequences for many US soldiers. Republicans are also rather cautious about Trump's plans. The US President announced at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States would take control of the Gaza Strip and economically develop the war-torn Palestinian coastal area. He did not rule out sending US troops. When asked by a journalist whether he would send US troops to the Gaza Strip to fill the security vacuum, Trump said: "If it is necessary, we will do that." He expects a long-term US commitment to the region, the Republican continued. Netanyahu supported Trump's proposal and expressed the hope that the move could change the Middle East and bring peace to the region. The Islamist Hamas, which continues to be supported by many Palestinians and other Arab states, accused Trump of "racism" after his comments. The call to the residents of the Gaza Strip is "an expulsion from their country," said Abu Suhri. "We consider it a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region, because the people of the Gaza Strip will not allow such plans." "Radical departure from basic principles of US Middle East policy" In the USA itself, even the influential Republican Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina was cautious about his party colleague's suggestion. "We will see what our Arab friends say about it," he told CNN. Most citizens of his state would probably "not be enthusiastic about sending Americans to take over the Gaza Strip." However, he remains open to everything for now. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, meanwhile, found clearer words. "He has completely lost his mind," he wrote on X. And: "A US invasion of the Gaza Strip would lead to the deaths of thousands of US soldiers and decades of war in the Middle East." Trump's move would be a radical departure from the basic principles of US Middle East policy over the past decades. In particular, previous governments - including Trump's own during his first term - have avoided sending US troops to the Gaza Strip. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, meanwhile, viewed Trump's plan as an announcement of a serious breach of international law. "I think we have to repeat what the President of the United States has just said," Van Hollen said on US broadcaster MSNBC. "He just said that the policy of the United States will be to forcibly expel two million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip - this is also called ethnic cleansing." "Most dangerous and toxic mix of ideas" Van Hollen described Trump's plan as "despicable in many ways" and warned that the Republican's statements were massively endangering the safety of US soldiers and embassy staff in the region. "This is probably the most dangerous and toxic mix of ideas that could be brought together right now. And that is why it will be a moment of great danger for Americans," the senator explained. Trump is escalating the already tense situation in the Middle East: "What the president is doing here is basically throwing a match into an already extremely volatile region." The Democrat from the state of Maryland is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was already a staunch critic of American Middle East policy under Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden. In the past, he has also repeatedly sharply attacked Netanyahu and accused the Israeli government, among other things, of actively blocking humanitarian aid for the Palestinian civilian population in contravention of international law.