Donald Trump has reiterated his calls for the US to take over the Gaza Strip, describing it as an “incredible piece of important real estate.”
On Monday, fresh off tanking the global economy with his trade tariffs, Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House for another visit.
Netanyahu had visited Washington in the first couple of weeks of Trump’s presidency, when Trump shockingly called for Palestinians to be relocated out of Gaza so America can take the region over and turn it into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East.’
Now, Trump has repeated this belief, which many believe amounts to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homeland.
Speaking to press from the Oval Office alongside Netanyahu overnight, Trump was asked what he thought the best way to pressure Hamas into accepting a deal was.
The president responded: “You know how I feel about the Gaza Strip, I think it is an incredible piece of important real estate, and I think it’s something we [the US] would be involved in.”
He suggested an American peace force in Gaza “controlling and owning the Gaza Strip would be a good thing, because right now all it is, for years and year, all I hear about is killing and Hamas and problems.”
Trump then reiterated his calls for Palestinians in the region to be relocated to different countries, something he claimed would then turn the Gaza Strip into a “freedom zone.”
After saying this would be a “hell of a place,” Trump added: “I don’t understand why Israel ever gave it [Gaza] up.”
When Trump initially made comments like this, he was widely condemned by the international community, with even the likes of the Kremlin distancing themselves from his words.
In March, Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza, ending a ceasefire that has lasted almost two months, in a move that was branded “unconscionable” by the UN. Almost 1,400 Palestinians have been killed since Israel renewed its offensive on Gaza, taking the total Palestinian death toll to more than 50,000.
Last week, 27 Palestinians were killed after an Israeli air strike on a school that was serving as a shelter for displaced families.
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