WASHINGTON — Some of US President Donald Trump's top aides have sought to soften parts of his proposal to take over Gaza and permanently relocate Palestinians from the war-stricken enclave, following backlash at home and abroad and questions over the plan's legality.
During a Tuesday press conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said he saw the US having a "long-term ownership position" of Gaza, and talked of "permanently" resettling 1.8 million Palestinians in neighbouring countries. Trump left the door open to deploying US troops there as part of a massive rebuilding operation.
Trump's proposal was met with immediate condemnation from officials around the world on Wednesday, with Arab states and European leaders expressing support for a Palestinian state through the implementation of a two-state solution.
Less than 24 hours after Trump's comments, top US officials walked back elements of his plan.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Trump was only proposing to temporarily move Gazans out of the territory to allow for reconstruction, insisting that the president had not committed to using US troops to gain permanent control of Gaza.
Rubio said that proposal was not meant as a "hostile move" but rather a "very generous move, the offer to rebuild and to be in charge of the rebuilding".
“In the interim, obviously, people are going to have to live somewhere while you’re rebuilding it," Rubio said of Trump's proposal to relocate Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt.
Trump said on Tuesday that he would send US troops to Gaza "if it's necessary".
Yet White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing on Wednesday that "the president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza". She also said Gazans should be "temporarily relocated" for the reconstruction process.
"It means Donald Trump, who is the best dealmaker on the planet, is going to strike a deal with our partners in the region,” Leavitt concluded, ruling out that the US would be spending taxpayers money to fund rebuilding efforts in Gaza.
Trump's Gaza proposal upended the US' longstanding policy of supporting a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, and came in the midst of a fragile ceasefire deal between the pair that took hold in January — a deal for which he claimed credit.
The Arab world was swift in its rejection of the plan, with both Egypt and Jordan rebuffing the idea that Palestinians should be relocated to their countries.
King Abdullah of Jordan, in a meeting with the head of the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday, said his country would not accept any attempts to annex Palestinian land.
Regional heavyweight and major US ally Saudi Arabia said it would not establish diplomatic ties with Israel in the absence of an independent Palestinian state.
A raft of other countries around the world voiced their disagreement with Trump's plan — including Russia, China, Australia, and the majority of EU's 27 member states.
The United Nations said the proposal to move Palestinians out of Gaza would amount to "ethnic cleansing". UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also suggested that Trump's proposal would contradict international law.
Speaking during a trip to Turkey, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier echoed the UN that any attempt to forcibly relocate Gazans was "unacceptable under international law" and would not serve as a, "serious basis for talks" in brokering peace in the region.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for the United Nations to "protect the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights", saying that what Trump wanted to do would be "a serious violation of international law".
Within Israel, however, Trump's plan was met with praise from members of Netanyahu's government.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Netanyahu said the proposal was "the first good idea that I've heard."
"I think it should be really pursued, examined, pursued and done, because I think it will create a different future for everyone," he told Fox News. — Euronews
