Washington: President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be "permanently" resettled outside the war-torn territory.
Trump said, "The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it. We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site and getting rid of the destroyed buildings. Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area...I'm hopeful that this ceasefire could be the beginning of a larger and more enduring peace that will end the bloodshed and killing once and for all. With the same goal in mind, my administration has been moving quickly to restore trust in the alliance and rebuild American strength throughout the region."
"I don't think people should be going back," Trump said. “You can't live in Gaza right now. I think we need another location. I think it should be a location that's going to make people happy."
Trump's comments came as he and top advisers made the case that a three-to-five-year timeline for reconstruction of the war-torn territory, as laid out in a temporary truce agreement, is not viable.
"You look over the decades, it's all death in Gaza,” Trump added. "This has been happening for years. It's all death. If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like what's happening in Gaza."