Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that ex-U.S. President Donald Trump had nothing wrong with his proposal to let the Palestinians leave the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu reacted to Trump’s proposition, which was highly criticized by people all over the world.
Trump had said that Palestinians in Gaza needed to be permanently relocated to other countries, while he also insinuated that the United States could take over Gaza. Human rights groups have condemned this idea, calling it “ethnic cleansing,” which means forcing a group of people to leave their homes unfairly.
Netanyahu supports some of Trump’s idea
Netanyahu spoke in an interview with Fox News, but he didn’t comment on Trump’s apparent idea of the U.S. taking over Gaza. He did, however, back the notion of “allowing Gazans who want to leave to leave.”
He explained, “What’s wrong with that? They can go out, come back later, or move to another place and then come back. But Gaza needs to be rebuilt.”
Netanyahu said he doesn’t think Trump was suggesting the US should send soldiers to Gaza to fight Hamas; he also doesn’t believe the US will pay for rebuilding the area.
“This is the first good idea that I’ve heard,” Netanyahu said. “It’s a great idea, and I think people should really weigh it seriously. If it happens, it will change the future for everybody.”
Trump’s idea faces strong criticism
Since January 25, Trump has repeatedly intimated that the Palestinians of Gaza should be taken in by other Arab countries like Egypt and Jordan. Both Egypt and Jordan however have made a strong rejection with Palestinian leaders.
The comments have been defended by Trump’s team, but he later dialed back parts of the plan after criticism from people all over the world.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military attacks have continued in Gaza. Now a ceasefire exists, but the massive destruction caused by the conflict is still evident. According to the Gaza health ministry, in the last 16 months alone, over 47,000 Palestinians have been killed. So far, various countries and human rights groups have accused Israel of war crimes and genocide; however, the latter has denied the accusation.
Most of the people of Gaza have fled their homes due to war, many struggling to find food, amidst crises caused by hunger.
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How did this war start?
The recent war between Israel and Palestinian militants has begun on October 7, 2023. On that day, Hamas-a Palestinian militant group-attacked Israel. According to the officials of Israel, Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.
Since then, heavy airstrikes and land attacks by Israel against Gaza continue unabated. The war on both sides brought suffering, having taken away the lives of thousands of people.
It remains a tense situation, and world leaders continue debating what should be next. A great number of countries and organizations urge peace and a long-lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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