Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said it was “worth listening carefully” to US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on critics of the plan to come forward with their own solutions.
In a video filmed at his hotel in Washington, the premier said Trump “raised his idea about Gaza, about the day after Hamas, and I think it is worth listening carefully to this idea, which is the first original idea that has been raised in years.”
After repeatedly floating the idea that Egypt and Jordan take in some Gazan refugees while the Strip was being rebuilt — an idea vociferously rejected by Cairo and Amman, Trump went much further Tuesday during a press conference at the White House alongside Netanyahu, when he suggested that “the US will take over the Gaza Strip,” while the enclave’s residents should be resettled in other countries.
The international community — including allies of Washington and Jerusalem — has largely criticized Trump’s plan. Trump has not backed down however, saying Thursday that Gaza “would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting.” He also claimed no American boots on the ground would be needed for the reconstruction of the enclave, which has been devastated in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Meeting later Thursday with US Senate leaders, Netanyahu was asked whether “US troops are needed in Gaza to make President Trump’s plan feasible?”
“No,” he answered.
Netanyahu’s remarks came as Rubio said that Gaza currently is “not habitable” due to dangers, such as unexploded weapons, and that people will have to live elsewhere while the area is rebuilt.
Rubio, answering a reporter’s question during a visit to the Dominican Republic, encouraged other countries to step up and offer to help rebuild Gaza, but did not say whether Palestinians would be able to return to the area under Trump’s proposal.
“I think that’s just a realistic reality, that in order to fix a place like that, people are going to have to live somewhere else in the interim,” Rubio said.
He said Trump’s controversial remarks were aimed in part to encourage other countries that “have both the economic and technological capacity” to help as well with rebuilding.
“President Trump has offered to go in and be a part of that solution. If some other countries are willing to step forward and do it themselves, that would be great, but no one seems to be rushing forward to do that,” he said.
Rubio added that “countries in the region who express a lot of concern about the Palestinian people” should “find a solution and answer to their problem.”
Citing two Israeli officials and two other unidentified sources, the Axios news site reported Thursday that Rubio is planning a trip to the Middle East after the Munich Security Conference, which begins on February 14, with visits to Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and possibly more countries.
According to Channel 13 news, senior military officials are worried about potential fallout from Trump’s proposal and held a series of consultations Thursday on the matter. The network quoted Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, telling political leaders “to get ready for Ramadan” next month due to concerns “Trump’s plans will set the area ablaze.”
The report, which did not cite any sources, said other senior IDF officers believe the plan can work but at a more limited scale.
Defense Minister Israel Katz meanwhile held an assessment Thursday with defense officials regarding plans to allow Palestinians to “voluntarily” leave Gaza, as per Trump’s recent statements.
“I instructed the IDF to prepare a plan that would allow any resident in Gaza that would be interested, to leave for anywhere in the world that would agree to absorb them,” he said in a video statement.
“The plan will include options to leave through the land crossings and special arrangements for exit through the sea and the air,” Katz added.