Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised US President Donald Trump’s controversial plan to relocate Palestinians from the war-torn Gaza Strip, stating that Israel is prepared to “do the job.”
In an interview with Fox News aired late Saturday, as Netanyahu was concluding a visit to Washington, he defended Trump’s proposal, which has drawn widespread criticism across the Middle East and beyond.
Netanyahu described the plan as “the first fresh idea in years” with the potential to transform Gaza, calling it a “correct approach” for the future of the Palestinian region.
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Netanyahu explained that Trump’s plan involves providing Palestinians with the option to temporarily relocate while Gaza is physically rebuilt.
He added, “All Trump is saying, ‘I want to open the gate and give them an option to relocate temporarily while we rebuild the place physically.’”
He also clarified that Trump had never suggested using American troops for the task, declaring, “Guess what? We’ll do the job.”
Israel took control of Gaza in 1967 and held a military presence there until 2005, when it withdrew both settlers and troops.
However, since then, it has imposed a severe blockade on the Hamas-controlled region and placed it under siege after the conflict escalated in October 2023.
Recent wars between Israel and Gaza-based armed groups, particularly after the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, have resulted in significant destruction and loss of life.
Netanyahu noted that Trump’s plan marked a break from the past, where Gaza would often be left under the control of militants using it as a base for attacks on Israel.
He expressed his support for the plan, but stressed that a key challenge would be finding a country willing to accept the displaced Palestinians.
The Israeli prime minister also stated that Palestinians relocated under this plan would need to “disavow terrorism” if they hoped to return to Gaza.
For Palestinians, any proposal to forcibly remove them from Gaza recalls the painful history of the 1948 “Nakba” or catastrophe, when many Palestinians were displaced during the creation of Israel.
Netanyahu responded to this concern by suggesting that removing Gaza’s population would not involve forced eviction or ethnic cleansing, but rather offering the option to leave what many describe as the “biggest open-air prison in the world.” He questioned, “Why are you keeping them in prison?”
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