Reacting Wednesday on NBC’s Today to President Trump’s bombshell proposition Tuesday that the United States should take over the Gaza Strip to make it the Riviera of the Middle East, chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel decried this as having elicited “shock and horror” from Middle East leaders and argued a Trump administration rebuilding the terrorist state “would be the — tantamount to ethnic cleansing in the region because many Palestinians don’t want to go.”
Engel told co-host Savannah Guthrie that he had “been speaking, Savannah, since this announcement came from President Trump with powerful leaders in the region, members of royal families and their — the universal reaction was shock and horror.”
“People don’t believe this is feasible. They’re not sure if Trump is serious, but they believe that this should not happen, that it would be destabilizing, that it would be the — tantamount to ethnic cleansing in the region because many Palestinians don’t want to go. The neighboring countries, Egypt and Jordan, don’t want to take them in,” he added in unsurprisingly hot rhetoric given someone with a long history covering for the Palestinians.
Engel further huffed that “in theory, if this were to go ahead, the U.S. military going in there and removing people with — with a barrel of a gun and putting them on some sort of busses and trains and sending them into a countries where they don’t want to go and countries where they’re not welcome.”
He conceded the “simplistic argument” was that Gaza has “been destroyed” and there’s “two million people living there without basic services, so why wouldn’t they want to go someplace elsewhere they could have a better life and create an opportunity to rebuild the — the territory[.]”
From there, however, he pivoted back to disgust:
But the question is President Trump talks about making this a Riviera — a riviera in the Middle East for whom? For Palestinians or for Israelis? Palestinians certainly believe if there is going to be any kind of construction there under Trump’s perspective. it would be for the Israelis and that the Palestinians would be displaced and never be allowed to return to their homes or their homeland.
Asked by co-host Craig Melvin what a U.S. intervention would look like, Engel responded Gaza would see “a gorilla war because some Palestinians could be incentivized no doubt that — when they go back to their homes and that is happening right now, Palestinians are moving from the southern parts of the Gaza Strip to the north...finding very little left.”
“[Y]ou’d have American troops occupying potentially for a long term one of the most problematic places in the entire Middle East and for administration and for a President who said that he wants to get out of foreign wars, this would certainly be a very potentially violent entanglement,” he concluded.
To see the relevant NBC transcript from February 5, click “expand.”
NBC’s Today
February 5, 2025
7:06 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: International Reaction to Trump’s Gaza Plan]
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Lots to chew on here. Let’s get to NBC’s chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel. He, of course, has covered this region for — for decades. Lived there as well. Richard, let’s start with the — the reaction that’s coming in. We’ve already heard from the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. How are world leaders, particularly in the Middle East, reacting?
RICHARD ENGEL: So, I’ve been speaking, Savannah, since this announcement came from President Trump with powerful leaders in the region, members of royal families and their — the universal reaction was shock and horror. People don’t believe this is feasible. They’re not sure if Trump is serious, but they believe that this should not happen, that it would be destabilizing, that it would be the — tantamount to ethnic cleansing in the region because many Palestinians don’t want to go. The neighboring countries, Egypt and Jordan, don’t want to take them in. So, that would mean, in theory, if this were to go ahead, the U.S. military going in there and removing people with — with a barrel of a gun and putting them on some sort of busses and trains and sending them into a countries where they don’t want to go and countries where they’re not welcome. There’s a very simplistic argument that could be made that sure, it makes a lot of sense. You’ve got an area that’s been destroyed. You have two million people living there without basic services, so why wouldn’t they want to go someplace elsewhere they could have a better life and create an opportunity to rebuild the — the territory? But the question is President Trump talks about making this a Riviera — a riviera in the Middle East for whom? For Palestinians or for Israelis? Palestinians certainly believe if there is going to be any kind of construction there under Trump’s perspective. it would be for the Israelis and that the Palestinians would be displaced and never be allowed to return to their homes or their homeland.
CRAIG MELVIN: Richard, this idea that the President floated yesterday that he’s not ruling out the possibility of sending troops to the region, and we heard a number of lawmakers seem pretty dismissive of that. What would that look like, Richard, and what — what could the potential fall-out of U.S. troops being in that part of the world — what would that fall-out look like as well?
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trump Says U.S. Will “Take Over” Gaza]
ENGEL: The U.S. would be entering into a gorilla war because some Palestinians could be incentivized no doubt that — when they go back to their homes. And that is happening right now, Palestinians are moving from the southern parts of the Gaza Strip to the north. They’re finding very little left. They’re seeing tremendous amounts of damage, so some Palestinians probably could be encouraged to leave, but many others would not. Hamas has already said it won’t leave. Other factions would certainly emerge, so you’d have American troops occupying potentially for a long term one of the most problematic places in the entire Middle East and for administration and for a President who said that he wants to get out of foreign wars, this would certainly be a very potentially violent entanglement.
GUTHRIE: Alright Richard, we’ll continue to follow it. Thank you for your analysis. Appreciate that.
