Although the president had been talking about the idea for weeks, there had been no meetings on the subject, and senior members of his government were taken by surprise.

President Donald Trump's plan for the United States to take over Gaza, permanently displacing Palestinians who live there and creating the "Riviera of the Middle East," has upset Arab nations and Western allies and would overturn decades of American policy in the region.

Trump has repeatedly mentioned the possibility of Jordan and Egypt opening their borders to allow for the mass evacuation of Palestinians out of Gaza over concerns that the area is uninhabitable.