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Trump to host Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday to discuss Gaza ceasefire deal Trump says Palestinians have ‘no alternative’ but to leave Gaza
(about 2 hours later)
First visit to Washington by the Israeli PM since the international criminal court issued a warrant for his arrest President in effect endorses ethnic cleansing of territory before hosting meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu
Donald Trump will host Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday for pivotal negotiations over the Gaza ceasefire deal as the Israeli leader visits Washington for the first time since the international criminal court issued a warrant for his arrest. Donald Trump has said that Palestinians have “no alternative” but to leave Gaza due to the devastation left by Israel’s war on Hamas, in effect endorsing ethnic cleansing of the territory over the opposition of Palestinians and the neighbouring countries.
Speaking as he prepared to host Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday, Trump repeated the suggestion that Gaza’s population should be relocated to Jordan and Egypt – something both countries have firmly rejected.
Trump claimed Palestinians would “love to leave Gaza”, telling reporters: “I would think that they would be thrilled.”
After 16 months of devastating war, Trump said Gaza was “a pure demolition site”.
“If we could find the right piece of land, or numerous pieces of land, and build them some really nice places with plenty of money in the area, that’s for sure. I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Asked about the reaction of Palestinian and other Arab leaders to his proposal, Trump said: “I don’t know how they could want to stay.”
A senior Hamas official dismissed the suggestion as a “a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region.
“Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass. What is required is an end to the occupation and aggression against our people, not their expulsion from their land,” Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement.
Trump confirmed he was withdrawing the US from the United Nations human rights council and prohibiting future funding for the main UN agency serving Palestinians in the occupied territories.
The US president also signed a memorandum reimposing his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions on Iran including efforts to “drive its oil exports down to zero” in order to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
As he signed the memo, Trump said he was open to a deal with Iran and expressed a willingness to talk to the Iranian leader.
“With me, it’s very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. Asked how close Tehran is to a weapon, Trump said: “They’re too close.”
The comments came ahead of a meeting with Netanyahu, who is making is first visit to Washington since the international criminal court issued a warrant for his arrest.
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Netanyahu and Trump are expected to discuss the fragile hostages-for-ceasefire deal as Israel and Hamas are supposed to begin a second phase of the negotiations that could lead to a permanent truce and the return of dozens more Israelis held hostage by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.Netanyahu and Trump are expected to discuss the fragile hostages-for-ceasefire deal as Israel and Hamas are supposed to begin a second phase of the negotiations that could lead to a permanent truce and the return of dozens more Israelis held hostage by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu will be his first with a foreign leader since his inauguration, a sign of respect (despite the two leaders having a troubled relationship in the past) that also reflects the urgency of a ceasefire that Trump told reporters on Monday he had “no guarantees” would hold.Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu will be his first with a foreign leader since his inauguration, a sign of respect (despite the two leaders having a troubled relationship in the past) that also reflects the urgency of a ceasefire that Trump told reporters on Monday he had “no guarantees” would hold.
Shortly before the summit began, Hamas said that the second round of ceasefire talks had begun as stipulated in the deal signed last month.Shortly before the summit began, Hamas said that the second round of ceasefire talks had begun as stipulated in the deal signed last month.
A White House official on Tuesday told Reuters that Trump would sign an executive order later in the day to restore his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, including sanctions and enforcement mechanisms to block the country’s path to a nuclear weapon and would counter Iran’s “malign influence”, the official said.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Netanyahu ahead of the summit. Witkoff is said to have been instrumental in pushing the Israeli leader to agree to the ceasefire last month, even as Netanyahu’s ultra-rightwing allies threatened to leave the ruling coalition for taking too soft a line on Hamas.Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Netanyahu ahead of the summit. Witkoff is said to have been instrumental in pushing the Israeli leader to agree to the ceasefire last month, even as Netanyahu’s ultra-rightwing allies threatened to leave the ruling coalition for taking too soft a line on Hamas.
In the US administration, Trump’s advisers are split among openly pro-settler hardliners such as Mike Huckabee, defense hawks such as the national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and more pragmatic dealmakers such as Witkoff who are seeking to keep the shaky ceasefire on track, said Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group.In the US administration, Trump’s advisers are split among openly pro-settler hardliners such as Mike Huckabee, defense hawks such as the national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and more pragmatic dealmakers such as Witkoff who are seeking to keep the shaky ceasefire on track, said Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group.
“It’s a really mixed set of influences and interests that are impacting Trump, and it all has to sort of sort itself out relatively quickly, because if this ceasefire falls apart, you know, this is really, really bad, and there’s no hope of getting back from that,” he said. “This really is an inflection point, and a lot hinges on how this set of meetings go and what direction Trump pushes it in.”“It’s a really mixed set of influences and interests that are impacting Trump, and it all has to sort of sort itself out relatively quickly, because if this ceasefire falls apart, you know, this is really, really bad, and there’s no hope of getting back from that,” he said. “This really is an inflection point, and a lot hinges on how this set of meetings go and what direction Trump pushes it in.”
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Trump is expected to say that the Gaza Strip will remain uninhabitable for more than a decade, the Washington Post reported, citing a senior administration official previewing the meeting. “President Trump looks at the Gaza Strip and sees it as a demolition site,” the person said.
That may indicate that Trump plans to repeat his call to depopulate the Gaza Strip and send people to neighbouring countries, in effect endorsing ethnic cleansing of the territory over the opposition of Palestinians and the neighbouring countries.