By Jeff Mason, Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON -U.S. President Donald Trump once more urged Palestinians in war-shattered Gaza to relocate to neighboring international locations, calling the enclave a “demolition website” on Tuesday earlier than he welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White Home.
Trump once more known as for Jordan and Egypt to absorb Gazans, saying Palestinians there had no various however to go away the coastal strip whereas it’s being rebuilt after practically 16 months of a devastating struggle between Israel and Hamas militants.
“It is a pure demolition website. If we might discover the fitting piece of land, or quite a few items of land, and construct them some very nice locations with loads of cash within the space, that is for certain. I feel that might be lots higher than going again to Gaza,” he instructed reporters within the Oval Workplace.
“I do not understand how they might need to keep,” Trump stated when requested concerning the response of Palestinian and Arab leaders to his proposal.
That echoed the desires of Israel’s far proper and contradicts former President Joe Biden’s dedication towards mass displacement of Palestinians.
Arab states and the Palestinian Authority have rejected the concept, which some human rights advocates have likened to ethnic cleaning.
Trump was internet hosting Netanyahu on the White Home to debate the way forward for the Gaza ceasefire, methods to counter Iran and hopes for a renewed push for an Israeli-Saudi normalization deal.
As Netanyahu arrived on the White Home, Trump greeted him on the doorways and the 2 leaders smiled for images.
The assembly, Trump’s first with a overseas chief since returning to workplace on Jan. 20, was meant to showcase shut ties between the president and Netanyahu after a interval of strained relations between the prime minister and Biden over Israel’s dealing with of the struggle in Gaza.
However Netanyahu might additionally come below strain from a typically unpredictable American president whose broader coverage targets for the Center East could not all the time match Netanyahu’s home and geopolitical pursuits.
MIDDLE EAST AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE
Their assembly coincided with the beginning of mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas on the essential second stage of the ceasefire deal and hostage launch, which many specialists imagine is fraught with obstacles.
The area is at a essential juncture, with the Gaza truce fragile, a parallel Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal in Lebanon nearing attainable expiration inside weeks and considerations about Iran’s nuclear ambitions persisting regardless of its weakened state.
Trump’s name for the resettlement of Gazans has added to regional unease the place many international locations are unsure what his return to energy will imply for them.
In his first time period, Trump handed Netanyahu a sequence of successes, together with relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and the signing of the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and a number of other Arab states.
He stays a robust supporter of Israel, taking credit score for serving to dealer the Gaza deal between Israel and Hamas militants even earlier than he returned to workplace, whereas insisting he desires to finish the wars within the Center East.
Trump has stated he hopes to resume an effort towards historic normalization of relations between Israel and Arab energy Saudi Arabia, and U.S. officers stated that objective, plus sustaining the Gaza ceasefire, can be a spotlight of the White Home talks.
Trump’s broader regional ambitions have created uncertainty over how a lot leeway he’ll give Netanyahu. The prime minister faces calls for from far-right members of his coalition threatening to topple his authorities until he restarts the combating in Gaza to satisfy his pledge to destroy Iran-backed Hamas. An ever-raging struggle would complicate if not block Trump’s try and convey the Saudis to the negotiating desk.
Although Biden maintained army help for Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault that prompted the Israeli assault on Gaza, relations have been strained at occasions over the excessive Palestinian civilian loss of life toll and Netanyahu’s defiance of U.S. calls for.
Trump appeared decided to get off on the fitting foot with Netanyahu, scheduling a joint press convention and a dinner afterwards.
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