In an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, President Donald Trump stated that Palestinians in Gaza had “no alternative” but to flee their homes. He went on to say that the United States could occupy the territory.
Regarding Gaza, which has been destroyed by the Israel-Hamas conflict, Trump declared, “The whole thing is a mess,”
“I don’t believe that anyone should return to Gaza. Gaza has, in my opinion, been quite unlucky for them. They have lived as though they were in hell, just as you are. There is no place for people to live in Gaza. They have no other option, which is the only reason they wish to return, in my opinion. What other options are there? Where do you go? They would far prefer live in a lovely, safe alternative than return to Gaza if they had one,” he said.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump stated at a news conference Tuesday evening beside Netanyahu. It will belong to us, and we will be in charge of leveling the site, removing the damaged structures, and eliminating all of the hazardous unexploded bombs and other weaponry on the property. Level it out and build an economy that will provide the local population with an infinite amount of employment and housing opportunities.”
Trump referred to Gaza as a “demolition site” earlier in the day and said that its residents would be “thrilled” to relocate.
He stated, “I don’t understand how they could want to stay,” and that moving to a new location “would be a lot better than going back to Gaza, which has had decades and decades of death.”
When asked if it would entail evicting people by force, Trump responded, “I don’t think so.” They don’t now have any other option, in my opinion, even if they had the chance. They have no other choice, thus they are there. What do they possess? There is currently a large pile of debris. Who is capable of such a life?
He stated, “I think they’d be thrilled to do it,” but added that at the moment, “they don’t have an option.”
The countries and others in the region have already rejected Trump’s suggestion that the Palestinians would be better off relocating to nearby Egypt or Jordan. He stated of the Palestinians, “I think they should get a good, fresh, beautiful piece of land.” The Gaza initiative has failed.
Trump’s comments were denounced by Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, who said, “We consider it a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region.”
“Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass,” he stated, adding that what is needed is to stop the violence and occupation of our people rather than to force them off their land.
Since the beginning of his second administration, Trump had not met with a foreign leader until he met with Netanyahu.
Trump told reporters, “I’m here to listen, and he’s here to see me.”
Trump described the White House gathering as a “very big meeting” during his remarks to reporters on Sunday. He said, “I look forward to discussing how we can bring peace to Israel and its neighbors and efforts to counter our shared adversaries,” in his letter inviting Netanyahu to Washington last week.
Netanyahu said on Sunday that they would talk about “the critical issues that lie ahead of us defeating Hamas, returning all our hostages and dealing with the Iranian axis in all its components, an axis that also threatens Israel s security, the Middle East and the entire world.”
The two were scheduled to meet for a joint news conference shortly after 4 p.m. ET.
The Biden administration secured a ceasefire and hostage-release arrangement between Israel and Hamas with the assistance of Trump’s transition team. Tuesday was supposed to be a discussion about the next stage of the accord.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. This marked the start of the battle. According to local officials, Israel killed about 47,000 people in its retaliatory air and land attack on Gaza, the majority of whom were civilians. The number of displaced Palestinians is in the hundreds of thousands.
Netanyahu has defended his actions, most notably while traveling to Washington, despite widespread condemnation of the Israeli counteroffensive’s magnitude.
“The Middle East has already altered as a result of the choices we took during the conflict and the valor displayed by the IDF soldiers. It has been completely altered by them. “I believe we can make even more positive changes if we work hard with President Trump,” he said.
In an attempt to purge Gaza, Trump has stated that he wanted Jordan and Egypt to take in more Palestinian refugees.
Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told reporters prior to the meeting that Trump was talking about making the region “habitable.” Additionally, he called the five-year plan to rehabilitate Gaza in a later phase of the ceasefire agreement “preposterous” and unachievable. Reconstruction might take up to 15 years, according to national security adviser Mike Waltz.
“There are 30,000 unexploded munitions” in Gaza, according to Witkoff. The buildings have the potential to collapse at any time. There are absolutely no utilities available there, including gas, electricity, and running water. Who knows what kind of illness could be brewing there?
Trump and Netanyahu were close allies during Trump’s first term, but after Netanyahu congratulated Joe Biden on winning the 2020 election while Trump was still contesting the results, their relationship soured.
Trump told a gathering at a campaign event a few days after the Oct. 7 incident that Netanyahu had failed us during his first term, claiming that he had not been helpful prior to the US killing a senior Iranian general. Following backlash from his Republican opponents, Trump used Netanyahu’s nickname to post on social media with the hashtags #IStandWithIsrael and #IStandWithBibi.
When Netanyahu paid Trump a visit at his Florida home in July following meetings with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and following an unsuccessful attempt on Trump’s life, their relationship seemed to have been restored.
Netanyahu stated on Sunday that the “fact that this will be [Trump’s] first meeting with a foreign leader since his inauguration has great significance for the state of Israel” as it “testifies to the strength of the alliance between Israel and the United States.”
When asked Tuesday how he and Netanyahu are getting along today after all the ups and downs, Trump replied, “Mostly ups.”
Netanyahu’s visit to the White House is by no means his first.
Blair House, the White House’s historic official guest residence, welcomed Netanyahu on Monday. According to the director of the residence, Netanyahu has visited the mansion 14 times, which is far more than any other foreign leader has done since it was constructed in the 19th century.