Trump says US will take over the Gaza Strip after relocating all Palestinians

WASHINGTON — President Trump proposed a US takeover of the Gaza Strip Tuesday night — shortly after suggesting removing “all” Palestinians living there.“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.“We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings — level it out and create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”Trump added that the roughly 2 million Gaza Strip residents would be relocated to neighboring countries in a transitional phase — and indicated they would not be granted the right of return afterward.“Just can’t go back.If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years,” he said at the press conference.Trump said he would deploy US troops to the territory “if it’s necessary.”Trump said he would deploy US troops to the territory “if it’s necessary” and that he imagined “the world’s people” occupying an “international” zone that would be regarded as “the Riviera of the Middle East,” with some Palestinians permitted to resettle. Netanyahu all but endorsed the idea, saying: “I think it’s something that could change history and it’s worthwhile really pursuing this avenue.”Trump did not lay out a timeline for either the proposed US occupation or the relocation of Gaza’s residents.Hamas and Israel reached a cease-fire deal last month — after Trump threatened “hell” for the terrorist group if a deal to end fighting and release hostages was not inked before he took office on Jan.

20.Egyptian and Jordanian leaders have already rejected Trump’s request that they take in Gazans.But Trump claimed Tuesday that “I spoke to other leaders of countries in the Middle East and they lov...