Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed US President Donald Trump's widely criticized plan to withdraw Palestinians from the war-torn Gaza Strip, saying Israel was ready to "finish the job", Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
In an interview broadcast on Fox News last night - shortly before the end of his visit to Washington, Netanyahu defended the proposal, which was sharply condemned around the world.
“I think President Trump's proposal is the first new idea in years and has the potential to change everything in Gaza”, Netanyahu said, adding that he saw it as “the right approach” on the future of the Palestinian territory.
“All Trump is saying is: “I want to open the door and allow them to move in temporarily while we physically rebuild the place“, the Israeli prime minister explained.
“Trump never said he wanted American troops to do the job. And guess what? We will do the job“, the Israeli prime minister said, adding: “Hamas“ attacked us, we will take care of it“.
Israel captured the Gaza Strip in 1967, then unilaterally withdrew in 2005. Since 2007, after the Palestinian Islamist movement “Hamas“ took power in the enclave, Israel has imposed a strict blockade on the Palestinian territory. Gaza has been devastated by the war triggered by the bloody attack by “Hamas“ against Israel on October 7, 2023.
In Netanyahu's words, the US president's plan means breaking with “more of the same“. “We are leaving, Gaza is once again occupied by these terrorists who are using it as a base for attacks on Israel [...] This will not lead to anything“, said the Israeli prime minister.
“I think we have to implement it“, he added, warning that “the real problem“ is finding a “destination“ to accept the displaced Gazans. At the same time, Netanyahu said that the Palestinians would have to "give up terrorism" to be allowed to return to Gaza.
The Palestinians reject any idea of forced displacement, which they associate with the mass displacement that followed the creation of Israel in 1948.
"Everyone describes Gaza as the world's largest open-air prison. And you know why? Because they are not allowed to leave," Netanyahu said of the blockaded territory, blaming "its neighbor, Egypt."
"Get the people out, let them go. No forced displacement, no ethnic cleansing - get the people out of what all these countries and benefactors call an "open-air prison." "Why are you keeping them in prison?" the Israeli prime minister asked.