Trump suggests Palestinians be ‘permanently’ resettled from war-torn Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump connected Tuesday suggested that displaced Palestinians successful Gaza beryllium “permanently” resettled extracurricular the war-torn territory.

Trump made the provocative comments astatine the commencement of his gathering with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu astatine the White House, wherever the 2 leaders are expected to sermon the fragile ceasefire and hostage woody successful the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

“I don’t deliberation radical should beryllium going back,” Trump said. “You can’t unrecorded successful Gaza close now. I deliberation we request different location. I deliberation it should beryllium a determination that’s going to marque radical happy.”

Trump’s comments came arsenic helium and apical advisers made the lawsuit that a three-to-five-year timeline for reconstruction of the war-torn territory, arsenic laid retired successful a impermanent truce agreement, is not viable.

The president has antecedently called connected Egypt and Jordan to resettle Gazans. Both countries person flatly rejected specified proposals.

But Trump said helium believes some countries—as good arsenic different countries which helium did not name—will yet hold to instrumentality successful Palestinians.

“You look implicit the decades, it’s each decease successful Gaza,” Trump said. “This has been happening for years. It’s each death. If we tin get a beauteous country to resettle people, permanently, successful bully homes wherever they tin beryllium blessed and not beryllium changeable and not beryllium killed and not beryllium knifed to decease similar what’s happening successful Gaza.”

The White House’s absorption connected the aboriginal of Gaza’s much than 2 cardinal residents comes arsenic the nascent truce betwixt Israel and Hamas hangs successful the balance.

Netanyahu is facing competing unit from his right-wing conjugation to extremity a impermanent truce against Hamas militants successful Gaza and from war-weary Israelis who privation the remaining hostages location and for the 15-month conflict to end.

The leaders said their talks would screen a long-sought Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization woody and shared concerns astir Iran’s atomic program, arsenic good the 2nd signifier of the hostage deal.

Trump continues to property for relocating Palestinians from Gaza adjacent aft some Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Jordanian King Abdullah II past publically dismissed the idea.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League also joined Egypt and Jordan in rejecting plans to determination Palestinians retired of their territories successful Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Yet Trump whitethorn beryllium betting helium tin transportation Egypt and Jordan to travel astir to judge displaced Palestinians due to the fact that of the important assistance that the U.S. provides Cairo and Amman. Hard-line right-wing members of Netanyahu’s authorities person embraced the telephone to determination displaced Palestinians retired of Gaza.

“To me, it is unfair to explicate to Palestinians that they mightiness beryllium backmost successful 5 years,” Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, told reporters. “That’s conscionable preposterous.”

Trump besides signaled that helium whitethorn beryllium reconsidering an autarkic Palestinian authorities arsenic portion of a broader two-state solution to the decades-long Israel-Palestinian conflict. “Well, a batch of plans alteration with time,” helium told reporters erstwhile asked if helium was inactive committed to a program similar the 1 helium laid retired successful 2020 that called for a Palestinian state.

“A batch of decease has occurred since I near and present came back,” Trump said. “Now we are faced with a concern that’s antithetic — successful immoderate ways amended and successful immoderate ways worse. But we are faced with a precise analyzable and hard concern that we’ll solve.”

Netanyahu’s accomplishment successful Washington for the archetypal overseas person sojourn of Trump’s 2nd word comes arsenic the premier minister’s fashionable enactment is lagging.

The premier curate is successful the mediate of weekslong grounds successful an ongoing corruption trial that centers connected allegations helium exchanged favors with media moguls and affluent associates. He has decried the accusations and said helium is the unfortunate of a “witch hunt.”

Being seen with Trump, who is fashionable successful Israel, could assistance distract the nationalist from the proceedings and boost Netanyahu’s standing.

“We person the close person of Israel who’s done a large job,” Trump said of Netanyahu.

Netanyahu besides praised Trump’s enactment successful getting the hostage and ceasefire deal. “I’ll conscionable archer you, I americium blessed they are here,” Netanyahu said of Trump and his administration.

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It’s Netanyahu’s archetypal question extracurricular Israel since the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants successful November for him, his erstwhile defence curate and Hamas’ slain subject chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity during the warfare successful Gaza. The U.S. does not admit the ICC’s authorization implicit its citizens oregon territory.

Netanyahu met with White House nationalist information advisor Mike Waltz and Witkoff on Monday to statesman the daunting enactment of brokering the adjacent signifier of a ceasefire agreement.

Netanyahu said successful a connection that the gathering with Witkoff and Waltz was “positive and friendly.”

The Israeli person said helium would nonstop a delegation to Qatar to proceed indirect talks with Hamas that are being mediated by the Gulf Arab country, the archetypal confirmation that those negotiations would continue. Netanyahu besides said helium would convene his information Cabinet to sermon Israel’s demands for the adjacent signifier of the ceasefire erstwhile helium returns to Israel astatine the extremity of the week.

Witkoff, meanwhile, said helium plans to conscionable with Qatar’s premier minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, successful Florida connected Thursday to sermon the adjacent signifier successful the ceasefire. Qatar and Egypt person served arsenic cardinal intermediaries with Hamas passim the conflict.

Netanyahu is nether aggravated unit from hard-right members of his governing conjugation to wantonness the ceasefire and resume warring successful Gaza to destruct Hamas. Bezalel Smotrich, 1 of Netanyahu’s cardinal partners, vows to topple the authorities if the warfare isn’t relaunched, a measurement that could pb to aboriginal elections.

Hamas, which has reasserted power implicit Gaza since the ceasefire began past month, has said it volition not merchandise hostages successful the 2nd signifier without an extremity to the warfare and Israeli forces’ afloat withdrawal. Netanyahu, meanwhile, maintains that Israel is committed to triumph implicit Hamas and the instrumentality of each hostages captured successful the Oct. 7, 2023 onslaught that triggered the war.

Einav Zangauker, whose lad Matan is among the hostages, called connected Trump to usage American leverage to support Netanyahu committed to the agreement.

Matan, 24, is among those who are expected to beryllium included successful the 2nd signifier of the deal, erstwhile each remaining surviving hostages — including men nether the property of 50 and antheral soldiers — are to beryllium exchanged for a yet-to-be-determined fig of Palestinian prisoners. The 2nd signifier is besides expected to see the afloat withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

“I privation President Trump to cognize determination are definite utmost elements from wrong Israel who are trying to torpedo his vision,” said Zangauker, who traveled to Washington from Israel to articulation a planned Tuesday rally extracurricular the White House. “We are typical of the vast, immense bulk of Israel. The ultra-extremists are blackmailing the premier curate to bash their bidding.”

The premier curate is besides expected usage the sojourn to property Trump to instrumentality decisive enactment connected Iran. Tehran has faced a bid of subject setbacks, including Israeli forces importantly degrading Hamas successful Gaza and Hezbollah militants successful Lebanon arsenic good arsenic an cognition that decimated Iran’s aerial defenses. The moment, Netanyahu believes, has created a model to decisively code Tehran’s atomic program.

Ahead of his gathering with Netanyahu, Trump signed an enforcement bid that he said would increase economical pressure on Iran.

“We’re not going to let them to person a atomic weapon,” Trump said.

Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman successful Jerusalem contributed reporting.