US President Donald Trump has offered for the United States to be responsible for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says after the president proposed a US takeover of the enclave.
Rubio, speaking at a press conference in Guatemala City, said it was a unique offer to step in and clear debris and destruction in the Palestinian enclave, adding that people will have to live somewhere while it is rebuilt.
He said it was not meant as a hostile move and that details still needed to be worked out.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also told reporters on Wednesday that Trump wanted to see Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip “temporarily relocated” in order for the enclave to be rebuilt.
“It was not meant as a hostile move,” Rubio said.
“It was meant as a, I think, a very generous move.”
He said the Gaza Strip was “akin to a natural disaster” and people cannot live there because there were unexploded munitions, debris and rubble.
“In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while you’re rebuilding it,” Rubio said.
The government of Qatar, a mediator in Gaza Strip ceasefire talks, said on Wednesday it was too early to talk about the resettlement of Palestinians from the enclave and its delegation is busy trying to bring about the second phase of a deal to halt the war between Israel and Hamas.
In a shock announcement on Tuesday, Trump said the United States could take over the war-torn Gaza Strip and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after Palestinians were resettled elsewhere.
This followed his suggestion last week that Palestinians could be relocated to Egypt and Jordan.
Asked by Fox News if Trump’s proposal for a US takeover of the Gaza Strip would help or hurt the ceasefire talks, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said: “I don’t think it’s a time now to start commenting on specific ideas.”
“We know that there is a lot of trauma with the Palestinian side when it comes to displacement. However, again, it’s too early to talk about this, because we don’t know how this war will end.”
Trump’s suggestion has already drawn widespread criticism and Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have all stated their rejection of it.
Qatar, alongside the United States and Egypt, brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas that halted the 15-month-long war in the Palestinian enclave.
Al-Ansari also said that Qatar is ready to mediate between Trump’s administration and Iran for the stability of the whole region.
“We have been, even during the first Trump administration, working with the administration over getting an arrangement with the Iranians. And we think it’s the role that we can play now, we are fitted to do it,” Al-Ansari said.
Trump has said he preferred a verified nuclear peace agreement with Iran, while a senior Iranian official told Reuters Iran is ready to give its arch-foe a chance to resolve disputes.
“We believe in President Trump as a deal maker,” Al-Ansari said.
with AP
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