Syria's Sharaa calls Trump Gaza plan 'serious crime' bound to fail

11/2/2025 18:48

Syria's new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said in remarks broadcast on Monday he believes U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza and take over the Strip "is a serious crime that will ultimately fail".



Trump had said the U.S. would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere. He said Palestinians would not have the right of return to Gaza under his proposal.



In an interview with a UK podcast, Sharaa, an Islamist whose militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was once an affiliate of al Qaeda, said Trump's proposal would not succeed.



Sharaa, declared president for a transitional phase after his group's fighters led the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, said it would be neither "wise nor morally or politically right" for Trump to lead an effort to force Palestinians out of their land.