STORY: U.S. proposal to "take over Gaza" sparks Palestinian defiance, condemnation
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 5, 2025
DATELINE: Feb. 6, 2025
LENGTH: 00:02:40
LOCATION: GAZA, Palestine
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Gaza
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): MOHAMMED ALI, Gaza-based resident
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): IBRAHIM SAMI, Gaza-based resident
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): SALIM REFAI, Gaza-based resident

STORYLINE:

U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that the United States could take control of Gaza and relocate Palestinians has sparked widespread condemnation across the occupied Palestinian territories, with residents and leaders vowing to resist any displacement from their homeland.
   
Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a joint press conference on Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. would "take control of the Gaza Strip" and redevelop it, though he provided no specifics on how Palestinians might be resettled. "We are going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it will be something the entire Middle East can be proud of," he said.
   
The response from Gaza was swift and scathing.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): MOHAMMED ALI, Gaza-based resident
"Our presence in our land is not subject to any decision from abroad, whether Trump or any Arab or European country. We are here by our own will and we will not be forced to leave our country because we have sacrificed ourselves, our money and our children. No one can impose any decision on us because we are more steadfast in our land."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): IBRAHIM SAMI, Gaza-based resident
"Why should we be displaced and what will they do more than us? They stole our land in the West Bank and Gaza. What will they take from it and in which country do they want to displace us?"

SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): SALIM REFAI, Gaza-based resident
"I am against all this arrogance that Trump is talking about to deport us from Gaza. We lived through a fierce war and did not leave our land. So why will we leave after Trump's statements? Gaza is our country and our land and we can't leave it for the strangers who came to occupy it. They should leave and not us."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected Trump's comments as a "blatant violation of international law," adding: "No one has the right to decide our fate but us. We will not allow such schemes to pass."
   
He urged the international community to oppose "dangerous provocations" and uphold Palestinian self-determination.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Gaza, Palestine.
(XHTV)