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Donald Trump

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‘You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over,’’ said US President.

By Associated Press and United with Israel Staff

President Donald Trump said Saturday he would like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip, potentially moving out enough of the population to “just clean out” the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate.

During a 20-minute question-and-answer session with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump also said he has ended his predecessor’s hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel.

“We released them today,” Trump said of the bombs. “They’ve been waiting for them for a long time.” Asked why he lifted the ban on those bombs, Trump responded, “Because they bought them.”

On his larger vision for Gaza, Trump said he had call earlier in the day with King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak Sunday with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt.

“I’d like Egypt to take people,” Trump said. “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over.’”

Trump said he complimented Jordan for having successfully accepted Palestinian refugees and that he told the king, “I’d love for you to take on more, cause I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s a mess. It’s a real mess.”

Trump said the part of the world that encompasses Gaza, has “had many, many conflicts” over centuries. He said resettling “could be temporary or long term.”

“Something has to happen,” Trump said. “But it’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there.” He added: “So, I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change.”

There was no immediate comment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

Hamas rejected Trump’s proposal. Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, stated that Gaza residents face the risk of death as long as they remain in their homeland but will never abandon it under any circumstances.

He argued that revisiting approaches attempted under former President Joe Biden, which he claimed prolonged the conflict, is futile.

Abu Zuhri further emphasized that adhering to the current agreement is the only viable solution for addressing the issues in Gaza, asserting that efforts to bypass the agreement are meaningless.

Trump had suggested that Gaza has “really got to be rebuilt in a different way.”

Trump said ”Gaza is interesting. It’s a phenomenal location, on the sea. The best weather, you know, everything is good. It’s like, some beautiful things could be done with it, but it’s very interesting.”

Resuming delivery of large bombs, meanwhile, is a break with then-President Joe Biden, who halted their delivery in May as part of an effort to keep Israel from launching an all-out assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden told CNN in May when he held up the weapons. “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah … I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem.”

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