US president says other countries in the Middle East could be tasked with rebuilding parts of the war-ravaged enclave
\n Gaza
\nUnited States President Donald Trump has reiterated his controversial proposal to take control of Gaza, saying he is committed to \u201cbuying and owning\u201d the war-ravaged enclave.
\nSpeaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said Gaza should be thought of as a \u201cbig real estate site\u201d and other countries in the Middle East could be tasked with handling its redevelopment.
\n\u201cAs far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it; other people may do it, through our auspices,\u201d Trump said while en route to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl.
\n\u201cBut we\u2019re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn\u2019t move back. There\u2019s nothing to move back into. The place is a demolition site.\u201d
\nTrump also claimed that displaced Palestinians would prefer not to return to Gaza despite his proposal prompting backlash from Palestinian representatives and much of the international community.
\n\u201cIf we could give them a home in a safer area \u2013 the only reason they\u2019re talking about returning to Gaza is they don\u2019t have an alternative. When they have an alternative, they don\u2019t want to return to Gaza,\u201d the US president said.
\nHamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza, reiterated its opposition to Trump\u2019s proposal on Sunday, calling his latest remarks \u201cabsurd\u201d.
\n\u201cGaza is not a property that can be bought and sold, and it is an integral part of our occupied Palestinian land,\u201d Izzat al-Risheq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement shared on Telegram.
\n\u201cDealing with the Palestinian issue with the mentality of a real estate dealer is a recipe for failure,\u201d al-Risheq added.
\n\u201cOur Palestinian people will thwart all displacement and deportation plans. Gaza belongs to its people.\u201d
\nEarlier on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump\u2019s proposal as \u201crevolutionary\u201d and \u201ccreative\u201d while addressing a cabinet meeting held hours after his return from Washington, DC, where he held talks with the US president.
\nTrump stunned Palestinians and the international community on Tuesday by proposing that Washington take over Gaza as part of an audacious redevelopment plan that he claimed could transform the enclave into \u201cthe Riviera of the Middle East\u201d.
\nThe US president doubled down on his suggestion the following day, after officials from his administration attempted to dampen blowback to the proposal by insisting that any resettlement of Palestinians would be temporary.
\nTrump, a real estate developer before entering politics, has provided few details about how he would implement his proposal, which would face huge practical hurdles in addition to raising legal and ethical concerns.
\nAfter initially saying he was open to the possibility of sending the US military into Gaza, Trump later said that no American soldiers would be needed to carry out the plan.
\nNeighbouring states such as Egypt and Jordan have roundly rejected calls to take in displaced Palestinians despite Trump\u2019s suggestion that they could be resettled in \u201cother countries of interest with humanitarian hearts\u201d.
\nOn Sunday, Saudi Arabia condemned a suggestion by Netanyahu that the kingdom\u2019s land be used to establish a Palestinian state.
\n\u201cThe kingdom affirms that the Palestinian people have a right to their land, and they are not intruders or immigrants to it who can be expelled whenever the brutal Israeli occupation wishes,\u201d the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, accusing the Israeli leader of attempting to \u201cdivert attention\u201d from Israel\u2019s ongoing \u201ccrimes\u201d in Gaza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US president says other countries in the Middle East could be tasked with rebuilding parts of the war-ravaged enclave Gaza United States President Donald Trump has reiterated his controversial proposal to take control of Gaza, saying he is committed to \u201cbuying and owning\u201d the war-ravaged enclave. Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460830,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-460820","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n