President Trump proposed Tuesday that the U.S. will “take over the Gaza strip [and] own it.”

During a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Mr. Trump said the U.S. will “be responsible” for cleaning up the Palestinian territory, including taking away unexploded bombs left from the war between Israel and Hamas.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Mr. Trump said. “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.”

An “economic development” will be made there that will create “unlimited jobs and housing for people of the area,” Mr. Trump said.

He said Palestinian refugees could relocate to “numerous sites or one large site,” but shouldn’t stay in Gaza.

Mr. Trump called the Gaza Strip an “unlucky” place and a “symbol of death and destruction for many decades.”

He said the area should not “go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have really stood there and fought for it and lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there.”

“Instead, we should go to other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts,” he said, adding that there are “many.”

He said “domains” should be built and they will be paid for by “neighboring countries of great wealth.”

“It could be numerous sites or one large site,” he said. “But the people will be able to live in comfort and peace and we’ll make sure something really spectacular is done.”

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.