Veteran political analyst Brit Hume joined Fox News on Wednesday to break down President Donald Trump’s strategy for the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The discussion focused on Trump’s effort to shift the narrative away from the decades-old two-state solution.
On Special Report with Bret Baier, Baier asked if Trump’s plan could trigger strong reactions internationally. Hume agreed, saying the proposal moves the conversation away from a solution that’s gone nowhere for over 50 years.
“Such an exotic idea, and it’s, you know, the obstacles are too numerous to mention, Brett, so it may never come to pass,” Hume said. “But it has had one notable effect, and that is it has moved the discussion, at least for now, away from the idea of a two-state solution, which has been a dead end for a half a century or more.”
Hume pointed out why the two-state plan has struggled. “The reason principally being that, while it makes all kinds of sense on paper, the Palestinians have really never shown much appetite for the idea,” he said. “Most of them, I think, want a one-state solution, and Israel is not a part of that.”
Trump’s proposal aims to change the game entirely. His plan would encourage Palestinians to voluntarily relocate—or be relocated—to transform Gaza into a more stable, even attractive, place to live.
“Trump is offering something different, which he hopes would be an enticement to Palestinians to perhaps leave, or be made to leave, and to turn the place into something that would be, you know, inhabitable, livable, and even a vacation destination,” Hume said. “I don’t know how far it’ll go, but I think it’s, you know, it puts some of those other countries in the position. They don’t like it, right? Saudi Arabia doesn’t like it, Egypt doesn’t, you know, they’re all complaining about it.”
Hume also noted the importance of Trump’s upcoming meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan. This meeting could signal key developments in how regional leaders respond to the proposal.
“Next week, King Abdullah of Jordan meets with President Trump. That’s one of the countries, obviously, that would be taking in Palestinians from Gaza,” Hume said. “He met today with Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan’s king did. And the question is whether this was a signal to Jordan, to Egypt, come up with something, otherwise this is the back end.”
Capitol Hill reacted quickly. “Obviously, there was a lot of reaction on Capitol Hill, Democrats, but also some Republicans,” Hume said. “Yeah, that’s right. The idea was bound to be met with all kinds of resistance and simply because it’s so far out of the box.”
Trump doubled down on his stance during a press conference Tuesday. Speaking from the East Room alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he declared that the U.S. would “take over” the Gaza Strip to put an end to the conflict. He called Gaza a “symbol of death and destruction” but promised it would finally achieve peace.
His administration has also worked with former President Joe Biden’s team to secure a ceasefire. That deal resulted in the release of several American hostages. On Jan. 15, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller confirmed that Trump and his advisors played a key role in making the agreement happen.