US President Donald Trump says it would be a mistake for Palestinians to return to the Gaza Strip after the end of the conflict with Israel.
„I think it is a big mistake to allow the Palestinians, to allow the people of Gaza, to return again. We do not want Hamas to return. I also think about the real estate that the United States will own and slowly develop. We will restore stability to the Middle East“, he told reporters aboard his plane en route to Louisiana.
„The Gaza Strip is completely destroyed. This place will be fixed. "We're going to rebuild it with the help of the rich countries of the Middle East," Trump added.
On February 4, Trump, at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after talks at the White House, said that Washington was considering long-term ownership of the Gaza Strip to develop it in the interest of peace in the Middle East. The American leader spoke in favor of resettling Palestinians from the enclave to other countries in the region, which he said could "pay for it." Trump indicated that the United States was ready to send troops to Gaza if it deemed necessary.
Arab countries, Iran and several Western countries have spoken out against Trump's idea. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he did not think the US proposals regarding the Gaza Strip were worthy of attention.