The region has become a hot spot for the family’s business. Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, noted last year that “Gaza’s waterfront property could be very valuable.”

President Donald Trump’s first major step on Middle East policy when he first took power in 2017 was to repudiate the decades-old U.S. position that peace required the creation of a viable Palestinian state – to visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apparent delight.

The ideal of remaining on one’s land despite threats of expulsion is at the heart of the Palestinians’ struggle and self-identity, and was on vivid display last week when hundreds of thousands returned to northern Gaza despite its near-total destruction.

During his press conference, Trump suggested that Saudi Arabia was not demanding a Palestinian homeland. But statements from Saudi officials since then contradict this narrative and point to increasingly divergent views on Gaza – and indeed, the future of Palestine – between Riyadh and Washington.