By Jeff Mason, Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump proposed the permanent resettlement of Palestinians from war-shattered Gaza to neighboring countries, calling the enclave a “demolition site” on Tuesday as he held pivotal talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump repeated his call for Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states to take in Gazans, saying Palestinians there had no alternative but to abandon the coastal strip, which must be rebuilt after nearly 16 months of a devastating war between Israel and Hamas militants.
But this time Trump said he would support resettling Palestinians “permanently,” going beyond his previous suggestions that Arab leaders had already steadfastly rejected.
Just two weeks into his second term, Trump was hosting Netanyahu at the White House to discuss the future of the fragile Gaza ceasefire, strategies to counter Iran and hopes for a renewed push for an Israeli-Saudi normalization deal.
“It’s a pure demolition site,” Trump, speaking shortly before Netanyahu arrived, said of Gaza.
“If we could find the right piece of land, or numerous pieces of land, and build them some really nice places with plenty of money in the area, that’s for sure. I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza.”
“I don’t know how they (Palestinians) could want to stay,” Trump said when asked about the reaction of Palestinian and Arab leaders to his proposal.
With Netanyahu at his side in the Oval Office, Trump later made similar remarks but suggested that Palestinians should leave Gaza for good “in nice homes and where they can be happy and not be shot, not be killed.”
“They are not going to want to go back to Gaza,” he said.
Trump offered no specifics on how a resettlement process could be implemented but his proposal echoed the wishes of Israel’s far right and contradicted former President Joe Biden’s commitment against mass displacement of Palestinians.
Some human rights advocates have likened Trump’s idea to ethnic cleansing.
Forced displacement of Gaza’s population would likely be a violation of international law and would be fiercely opposed not only in the region but also by Washington’s Western allies.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri condemned Trump’s calls for Gazans to leave as “expulsion from their land.”
“We consider them a recipe for generating chaos and tension in the region because the people of Gaza will not allow such plans to pass,” he said.
As Netanyahu arrived at the White House, Trump greeted him at the doors and the two leaders smiled for photographs.
The meeting, Trump’s first with a foreign leader since returning to office on Jan. 20, was meant to showcase close ties between the president and Netanyahu after a period of strained relations between the prime minister and Biden over Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza.
But Netanyahu could also come under pressure from a sometimes unpredictable American president whose broader policy goals for the Middle East may not always match Netanyahu’s domestic and geopolitical interests.
MIDDLE EAST AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE
Their meeting coincided with the start of mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas on the crucial second stage of the ceasefire deal and hostage release, which many experts believe is fraught with obstacles.
The region is at a critical juncture, with the Gaza truce fragile, a parallel Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal in Lebanon nearing possible expiration within weeks and concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions persisting despite its weakened state.
Trump’s call for the resettlement of Gazans has added to regional unease where many countries are uncertain what his return to power will mean for them.
In his first term, Trump handed Netanyahu a series of successes, including relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and the signing of the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab states.
He remains a strong supporter of Israel, taking credit for helping to broker the Gaza deal between Israel and Hamas militants even before he returned to office, while insisting he wants to end the wars in the Middle East.
Trump has said he hopes to renew an effort toward historic normalization of relations between Israel and Arab power Saudi Arabia, and U.S. officials said that goal, plus maintaining the Gaza ceasefire, would be a focus of the White House talks.
Trump’s broader regional ambitions have created uncertainty over how much leeway he will give Netanyahu.
The prime minister faces demands from far-right members of his coalition threatening to topple his government unless he restarts the fighting in Gaza to fulfill his pledge to destroy Iran-backed Hamas.
An ever-raging war would complicate if not block Trump’s attempt to bring the Saudis to the negotiating table.
Though Biden maintained military support for Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that prompted the Israeli assault on Gaza, relations were strained at times over the high Palestinian civilian death toll and Netanyahu’s defiance of U.S. demands.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh, Susan Heavey and Katherine Jackson in Washington; Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Howard Goller)
