In a new interview, President Trump said that if Palestinians were taken over and developed by the United States, as proposed by the Palestinians, Palestinians would not have the right to return to the Gaza Strip.
“No, because they have much better housing, because they're much better,” Trump told Fox News' Brett Byer in an interview that took place on Saturday and aired Monday.
“In other words, I'm talking about building a permanent place for them, because if they have to come back now, it's going to take you years to come – it's inhabited Because I can't do it,” Trump continued. “It's going to take years for that to happen.”
Trump has insisted that he could “contract” with Jordan and Egypt, and that they have Palestinians removed from Gaza, but leaders of those countries and other Arab countries have made this idea a reality. I refused.
Trump is scheduled to welcome Jordan's King Abdullah II into the White House on Tuesday. There, Gaza's proposal is expected to be a major point in the discussion.
Last week, in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president first proposed that the US take over and develop the Gaza Strip. He said that since then the US military has not been involved in securing the area.
Trump on Sunday called Gaza a “demolition site.”
The president's controversial proposal is to overturn decades of US foreign policy in the Middle East. Arab leaders in the region, including some of their allies, have rejected Trump's proposal.
Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian National Authority, said Trump's comments “represent a serious violation of international law.”
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly refusaled to infringe on the legal rights of Palestinians, including Israel's reconciliation policy, annexation of Palestinian lands, and efforts to drive Palestinians out of their lands.
Republicans appeared skeptical of the proposal, even if they welcomed it as an unorthodox solution to a long-standing problem.
