Trump vows to take over Gaza and create 'Riviera of the Middle East'

President Donald Trump said the US would take over war-ravaged Gaza and create a "Riviera of the Middle East" after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, shattering decades of US policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and drawing regional condemnation.

The shock move from Trump, a former New York property developer, was swiftly condemned by Saudi Arabia which Trump hopes will establish ties with Israel.

Trump, in his first major Middle East policy announcement, said he envisioned building a resort where international communities could live in harmony. Trump's son-in-law and former aide, Jared Kushner, last year described Gaza as "valuable" waterfront property.

The casual proposal sent diplomatic shockwaves across the Middle East and around the globe. China said it opposed the forced transfer of Palestinians and Turkey called the proposal "unacceptable".

"China has always believed that Palestinians governing Palestine is the basic principle of post-conflict governance," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, adding Beijing backs a two-state solution in the region.

An official from Hamas, which ruled the Gaza Strip before fighting Israel in a brutal war there, said Trump's statement about taking over the enclave was "ridiculous and absurd".

"Any ideas of this kind are capable of igniting the region," Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters, saying Hamas remains committed to the ceasefire accord with Israel and "ensuring the success of the negotiation in the second phase".

It is not clear whether Trump will go ahead with his controversial plan or is simply taking an extreme position as a bargaining strategy.

Trump provided no specifics of his plan, unveiled at a joint press conference on Tuesday with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too...we're going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it'll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of," Trump told reporters.

PERMANENT DISPLACEMENT

The announcement followed Trump's shock proposal earlier on Tuesday for the permanent resettlement of the more than two million Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries, calling the enclave, where the first phase of a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal is in effect, a "demolition site."

The US taking a direct stake in Gaza would run counter to longtime policy in Washington and for much of the international community, which has held that Gaza would be part of a future Palestinian state that includes the occupied West Bank.

Trump's proposal raises questions whether Saudi Arabia would be willing to join a renewed US-brokered push for a historic normalisation of relations with US ally Israel.

Saudi Arabia, also a key US ally, rejects any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia said it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state, contradicting Trump's claim that Riyadh was not demanding a Palestinian homeland.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has affirmed the kingdom's position in "a clear and explicit manner" that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances, the statement said.

Trump said that he plans to visit Gaza, Israel and Saudi Arabia, but did not say when he plans to go.

Netanyahu would not be drawn into discussing the proposal, other than to praise Trump for trying a new approach.

The Israeli leader, whose military had engaged in more than a year of fierce fighting with Hamas in Gaza, said Trump was "thinking outside the box with fresh ideas" and was "showing willingness to puncture conventional thinking".

Trump on Tuesday urged Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states to take in Gazans, saying people there had no alternative but to abandon the coastal strip, which must be rebuilt after nearly 16 months of war.

A UN damage assessment released in January showed that clearing over 50 million tonnes of rubble left in Gaza in the aftermath of Israel's bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2 billion.