U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wants his country to take ownership of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it after Palestinians are displaced elsewhere.
“We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,” Trump said at the start of a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I do see a long-term ownership position,” Trump said when asked about the U.S. controlling the territory for an extended period, adding that he is not ruling out sending U.S. troops in to secure Gaza.
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Trump’s comments came hours after he suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be “permanently” resettled outside the war-torn territory.
“You can’t live in Gaza right now. I think we need another location,” Trump said earlier Tuesday.
“I think it should be a location that’s going to make people happy. You look over the decades, it’s all death in Gaza. This has been happening for years. It’s all death. If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza.”
Trump has previously called on Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries to take in Palestinians temporarily while Gaza is reconstructed after the devastating war between Hamas and Israel, which was paused in January by a ceasefire. Tuesday was the first time he has publicly floated making that resettlement permanent.
