At a joint press conference, US President Donald Trump, together with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that "the USA will take over Gaza".
This is a stunning and shocking statement. It's hard to compare it with any similar statement from an American president in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict, says Anders Persson.
New Strategy
Trump did not rule out sending American soldiers to maintain security in Gaza. However, his statement raises more questions than answers and can reflect several different purposes, according to Anders Persson.
Is this a rhetorical statement aimed, for example, at helping Netanyahu maintain his current coalition? Or is it the beginning of a new strategy from Trump's side?
If it's the beginning of a new strategy, it raises all sorts of questions about how it will be implemented in practice, he says.
Trump has previously stated that he wants to move Gaza's population to areas outside Gaza, a proposal that neighboring countries Jordan and Egypt have both strongly opposed.
Most analysts had expected some kind of American-Israeli plan for phase two of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, which is about to begin in Gaza. There, we got very little concrete information about exactly how the USA and Israel envision that phase.
It seems we have very difficult negotiations ahead of us regarding the ceasefire.
Avoided Answering
During the press conference, there were several questions that Trump avoided answering, including questions about a two-state solution, whether he supports Israeli settlements in Gaza, and whether he supports Israel annexing the West Bank.
Trump is not an easy-to-analyze politician, and he has a unique ability to change his mind, says Anders Persson.
Just like this statement was shocking, it's possible that a statement that contradicts what he's saying now could come, where he's changed his mind and is in favor of a different policy.
