When Donald Trump announced that the US was going to take over Gaza, make it into a US territory, have the Palestinians leave and then rebuild it, it sent shockwaves throughout the world. Within seconds, X was flooded with comments filled with rage against Donald Trump, exclaiming that what he was proposing was antithetical to his “America First” philosophy which was such a huge selling point for his campaign. But is the endgame really for the US to take over Gaza, or was Trump’s extreme statement said for a particular goal? There are analysts who are making the observation that Trump simply declared the most extreme position to force all parties — Israel, Gaza, Saudi Arabia — to make work on a deal. Trump wants the Israelis and Saudis to deepen security ties to form an alliance against Iran. But Saudi Arabia has said that it will not agree to normalization with Israel until the latter recognizes a Palestinian state. Israel does not want to enter the second phase of the ceasefire plan until Hamas is completely dismantled, and the Palestinians want a complete Israeli military withdrawal. By Trump stating the most extreme position of the US taking over Gaza, he is pushing everyone to the negotiating table to hammer out a deal, as some analysts have observed. As the New York Times wrote:

Saudi Arabia is refusing to normalize ties with Israel, or help with Gaza’s postwar governance, unless Israel agrees to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Mr. Trump’s maximalist plans may have been an attempt to get both Hamas and Saudi Arabia to shift their positions, Israeli and Palestinian analysts said.

Faced with a choice between preserving its control over Gaza and maintaining a Palestinian presence there, Hamas might perhaps settle for the latter, according to Michael Milshtein, an Israeli analyst of Palestinian affairs.
And Saudi Arabia is being prodded to give up its insistence on Palestinian statehood and settle instead for a deal that preserves Palestinians’ right to stay in Gaza but not their right to sovereignty, according to Professor Abusada, the Palestinian political scientist.

Saudi Arabia swiftly rejected Mr. Trump’s plan on Wednesday, issuing a statement that underlined its support for Palestinian statehood. But some still think the Saudi position could change. During Mr. Trump’s previous tenure, in 2020, the United Arab Emirates made a similar compromise when it agreed to normalize ties with Israel in exchange for the postponement of Israel’s annexation of the West Bank.

“Trump is showing maximum pressure against Hamas to scare them so they make real concessions,” Professor Abusada said. “I also think he is using maximum pressure against the region so they would settle for less in exchange for normalization with Israel. Exactly like what the U.A.E. did.”

In turn, Mr. Trump has given the Israeli right a reason to support an extension of the cease-fire, Israeli analysts said.

Haaretz journalist Alon Pinkas, wrote that Trump’s shocking statement sent a message to Netanyahu that the US is calling the shots, and not Israel:

“Netanyahu’s jig is up. He was nothing more than a prop in the Trump White House show. Trump upended the playing field on Gaza, Iran and everything else. It may not be sustainable, but as of today Netanyahu has to play by Trump’s rules.”