US President Donald Trump said he is committed to buying and owning Gaza, but could allow sections of the war-ravaged land to be rebuilt by other states in the Middle East.
“I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza. As 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. But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back.”
“There’s nothing to move back into. The place is a demolition site. The remainder will be demolished. Everything’s demolished,” he said.
Trump also said he was open to the possibility of allowing some Palestinian refugees into the United States, but would consider such requests on a case-by-case basis.
President Donald Trump voiced growing frustration on Sunday with the ongoing ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas after witnessing the release of Israeli hostages over the weekend.
“I don’t know how much longer we can take that… at some point, we’re going to lose our patience.” His comments added new uncertainty over the future of the ceasefire agreement, as only 76 hostages remain to be freed, and Trump’s frustrations have been mounting.
Trump also reiterated his surprise proposal from earlier this month to have the US take control of Gaza once Palestinians are removed.
He stated that while other Middle Eastern countries could assist in rebuilding parts of Gaza, the US would ensure Hamas would not return.
A member of Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council, Yousef bin Trad al-Saadoun, has criticised Donald Trump’s proposal to move Palestinians from Gaza, suggesting a better solution for Middle East stability would be relocating Israelis to Alaska and Greenland.
In an article for Saudi newspaper Okaz, al-Saadoun argued that if Trump truly wanted to bring peace and prosperity to the region, he should relocate Israelis to these areas instead.
He also urged Palestinians to stay united, warning that “the worst is yet to come.” Al-Saadoun rejected Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s suggestion to establish a Palestinian state on Saudi soil and condemned US foreign policy for supporting Israel’s actions, accusing Washington of enabling the illegal occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
