Trump says ‘I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza’ at meeting with Netanyahu

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump repeated his idea of relocating Gazans to other countries during a meeting Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying “I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza.”

Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to be hosted by Trump, who assumed office on Jan. 20.

During their meeting at the Oval Office, Trump said he thinks Jordan and Egypt will take in Palestinians from Gaza, maintaining that the enclave is a demolition site and uninhabitable.

“I know they’ve spoken about it with you, and they say they’re not going to accept. I say they will, but I think other countries will accept also,” he said.

“So I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza. I think that Gaza has been very unlucky for them. They’ve lived like hell. They lived like you’re living in hell. Gaza is not a place for people to be living, and the only reason they want to go back, and I believe that strongly, is because they have no alternative. What’s the alternative to where there’s no other alternative? If they had an alternative, they’d much rather not go back to Gaza and live in a beautiful alternative that’s safe,” he continued.

Trump also suggested that wealthy nations could fund the construction of housing in multiple locations, possibly in Jordan, Egypt or other countries, to resettle Gazans.

“So we can build them through massive amounts of money supplied by other people, very rich nations. And they’ll, they’re willing to supply it if we can build something for them, and one of the countries, and it could be Jordan, and it could be Egypt, it could be other countries, and you could build four or five or six areas. It doesn’t have to be one area. But you take certain areas and build really good-quality housing, like a beautiful town, like someplace where they can live and not die,” said Trump.

He argued that Gaza is a place of death and destruction and suggested that displaced residents would not want to return.

Trump said Gazans are going to end up dying.

“The same thing is going to happen again. It’s happened over and over again, and it’s going to happen again. So I hope that we could do something where they wouldn’t want to go back…Who would want to go back? They’ve experienced nothing but death and destruction,” he said.

“It’s too dangerous for people. Nobody can go there. It’s too dangerous. Nobody wants to be there. Warriors don’t want to be there. Soldiers don’t want to be there. How can you have people go back?”

Earlier, Trump said Palestinians in Gaza “have no alternative” other than to flee the coastal enclave, reiterating his demand that Egypt and Jordan host the displaced.

The meeting also comes amid talks over phase two of a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.

At the beginning of the meeting, Trump said everyone is demanding peace and added that Netanyahu “wants peace also.”

“We’re dealing with very complicated people, but a deal can absolutely get done,” he said.

Netanyahu said that bringing home the hostages in the hands of Hamas is one of the goals to achieve in the enclave.

“I support getting all the hostages out and meeting all our war goals, that include destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities and making sure that Gaza never poses a threat to Israel,” he said.

Meanwhile, a group of people gathered near the White House to protest the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu.

An initial six-week phase of an ongoing ceasefire agreement took hold in Gaza on Jan. 19, halting Israel’s war, which has killed more than 47,500 people and left the enclave in ruins amid mass displacement of the civilian population and acute shortages of daily necessities.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

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