US officials now say Trump only wants to displace Palestinians from Gaza temporarily
President Donald Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s top diplomat and his main spokesperson on Wednesday walked back the idea that he wants the permanent relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, after American allies and even Republican lawmakers rebuffed his suggestion that the U.S. take 바카라 게임 웹사이트ownership바카라 게임 웹사이트 of the territory.
Trump on Tuesday had called for 바카라 게임 웹사이트permanently바카라 게임 웹사이트 resettling Palestinians from war-torn Gaza and left open the door to deploying American troops there as part of a massive rebuilding operation. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he only sought to move the roughly 1.8 million Gazans temporarily to allow for reconstruction.
Even that proposal has drawn criticism from Palestinians, who are worried they may never be allowed back in if they flee, and from the Arab nations that Trump has called on to take them in.
Rubio, on his first foreign trip as secretary of state, described Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s proposal as a 바카라 게임 웹사이트very generous바카라 게임 웹사이트 offer to help with debris removal and reconstruction of the enclave following 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
바카라 게임 웹사이트In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while you바카라 게임 웹사이트re rebuilding it,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Rubio said in a news conference in Guatemala City.
Leavitt said in a briefing with reporters in Washington that Gaza is 바카라 게임 웹사이트a demolition site바카라 게임 웹사이트 and referenced footage of the devastation.
바카라 게임 웹사이트The president has made it clear that they need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza,바카라 게임 웹사이트 she said, calling it currently 바카라 게임 웹사이트an uninhabitable place for human beings바카라 게임 웹사이트 and saying it would be 바카라 게임 웹사이트evil to suggest that people should live in such dire conditions.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Their comments contradicted Trump, who said Tuesday night, 바카라 게임 웹사이트If 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 what바카라 게임 웹사이트s happening in Gaza.바카라 게임 웹사이트 He added that he envisioned 바카라 게임 웹사이트long-term바카라 게임 웹사이트 U.S. ownership of a redevelopment of the territory, which sits along the Mediterranean Sea.
In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Pentagon on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military is 바카라 게임 웹사이트prepared to look at all options바카라 게임 웹사이트 for rebuilding Gaza.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We look forward to working with our allies, our counterparts, both diplomatically and militarily, to look at all options,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Hegseth said.
Egypt, Jordan and other U.S. allies in the Mideast have cautioned Trump that relocating Palestinians from Gaza would threaten Mideast stability, risk expanding the conflict and undermine a decades-long push by the U.S. and its allies for a two-state solution.
Saudi Arabia바카라 게임 웹사이트s foreign ministry issued a sharply worded reaction to Trump, noting its long call for an independent Palestinian state was a 바카라 게임 웹사이트firm, steadfast and unwavering position.바카라 게임 웹사이트 Saudi Arabia has been in negotiations with the U.S. over a deal to diplomatically recognize Israel in exchange for a security pact and other terms.
바카라 게임 웹사이트The duty of the international community today is to work to alleviate the severe human suffering endured by the Palestinian people, who will remain committed to their land and will not budge from it,바카라 게임 웹사이트 the Saudi statement said.
Even Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican and a Trump ally, called it 바카라 게임 웹사이트problematic.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트The idea of Americans going in on the ground in Gaza is a non starter for every senator,바카라 게임 웹사이트 the South Carolina lawmaker told reporters Wednesday. 바카라 게임 웹사이트So I would suggest we go back to what we바카라 게임 웹사이트ve been trying to do which is destroy Hamas and find a way for the Arab world to take over Gaza and the West Bank, in a fashion that would lead to a Palestinian state that Israel can live with.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Rubio insisted that Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s position 바카라 게임 웹사이트was not meant as a hostile move.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트What he바카라 게임 웹사이트s very generously has offered is the ability of the United States to go in and help with debris removal, help with munitions removal, help with reconstruction, the rebuilding homes and businesses and things of this nature so that then people can move back in,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Rubio said.
Still, the White House said Trump was ruling out sending U.S. dollars to aid in the reconstruction of Gaza.
But Leavitt, like Trump, refused to rule out sending American troops into Gaza, saying of Trump, 바카라 게임 웹사이트he wants to preserve that leverage in negotiations.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The Palestinians, Arab nations and others have rejected even a temporary relocation from Gaza, which would run counter to decades of U.S. policy calling for the creation of a Palestinian state with no further displacement of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank.
The proposals also appear to trash months of negotiations by the Biden administration to draft a 바카라 게임 웹사이트day after바카라 게임 웹사이트 plan for the reconstruction and governance of Gaza. President Joe Biden had tried to lock in that plan 바카라 게임 웹사이트 which calls for joint governance of the territory by the Palestinian Authority under U.N. stewardship and a multi-national peacekeeping force 바카라 게임 웹사이트 before leaving office by inviting Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s main Mideast envoy into final talks over a Gaza ceasefire.
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Miller reported from Washington. AP writers Farnoush Amiri, Tara Copp and Rebecca Santana in Washington and Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., contributed.