Now that other nations have made clear that they're not buying President Trump's plan to kick Palestinians out of Gaza so it can be redeveloped as the "Riviera of the Middle East," the president's aides and allies are easing off the gas on the idea. Their statements addressed issues including:
- Just temporary: Although the president advocated permanently resettling Palestinians elsewhere, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he only wants to move the roughly 1.8 million Gazans temporarily, so the reconstruction can take place. "In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while you're rebuilding it," Rubio said. Many Palestinians did not find that clarification comforting. Mustafa al-Gazzar, who's in his 80s and lives in Rafah, said he'd rather live under rubble than move away for Trump's project, the AP reports. "I won't leave," he said. "Put that in your brain."
- US troops: Trump did not rule out sending US troops to Gaza, and Leavitt did the same Wednesday, saying the president wants to use the possibility as "leverage in negotiations," per the AP. But Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, told Republican senators that Trump doesn't want any US troops there, said GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, per the New York TImes. "The idea of Americans going in on the ground in Gaza is a nonstarter for every senator," said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
- US money: White House aides said Trump was ruling out sending any money for the reconstruction. The president "doesn't want to spend any US dollars at all" on Gaza, Hawley said.
- Ownership: Rubio said Trump just wants to clear out and rebuild Gaza, not own it, though Trump had said his vision is for "long-term" US ownership. "What he's very generously has offered is the ability of the United States to go in and help with debris removal, help with munitions removal, help with reconstruction, the rebuilding homes and businesses and things of this nature so that then people can move back in," Rubio said.
Saudi Arabia, for one, said it's sticking to its longtime position advocating for an independent Palestinian state and opposes moving Palestinians out. "The duty of the international community today is to work to alleviate the severe human suffering endured by the Palestinian people, who will remain committed to their land and will not budge from it," its Foreign Ministry said. Graham agreed with the kingdom. "I would suggest we go back to what we've been trying to do which is destroy Hamas and find a way for the Arab world to take over Gaza and the West Bank, in a fashion that would lead to a Palestinian state that Israel can live with," he said. (More
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