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Netanyahu praises Trump's 'bold' Gaza vision 

Hamas 'must be eliminated': Rubio

Published : Monday, 17 February, 2025 at 12:00 AM  Count : 362
JERUSALEM, Feb 16: Israel and the United States have a common approach to Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, praising President Donald Trump's "bold vision" for the territory after talks Sunday with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Washington's top diplomat is on his first visit to the Middle East, a trip that comes after Trump made a widely-condemned proposal to take control of Gaza and relocate its more than two million residents.
"We discussed Trump's bold vision for Gaza's future and will work to ensure that vision becomes a reality," Netanyahu told reporters after their meeting, adding that the two leaders had a "common strategy" for the future of the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
The scheme that Trump outlined earlier this month, while Netanyahu visited Washington, lacked details. Trump said Palestinians had "lived a miserable existence" in Gaza and suggested the coastal territory could become the "Riviera of the Middle East", following redevelopment after more than 15 months of war.
Though Netanyahu welcomed the idea, foreign leaders have largely rejected it.
Netanyahu warned Israel would "open the gates of hell" in Gaza unless all hostages were returned, echoing Trump, who said "hell" would break out if Hamas failed to release them.
Rubio arrived hours after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners -- the sixth swap under a fragile ceasefire which the United States helped mediate along with Qatar and Egypt.
"At any moment the fighting could resume. We hope that the calm will continue and that Egypt will pressure Israel to prevent them from restarting the war and displacing people," said Nasser al-Astal, 62, a retired teacher in southern Gaza's Khan Yunis.
Washington, Israel's top ally and weapons supplier, has said it is open to alternative proposals from Arab governments but insists that, for now, "the only plan is Trump's".
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday said the establishment of a Palestinian state is "the only guarantee" of lasting Middle East peace.
Rubio is due to also visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Overnight, Israel said it received a shipment of US-made bombs, after the previous Biden administration blocked a shipment of heavy 2,000-pound ordnance.
Negotiations on a second phase of the truce, aimed at securing a more lasting end to the war, could begin this week in Doha, a Hamas official and another source familiar with the talks have said.
Trump has warned of repercussions for neighbouring Egypt and Jordan unless they accept displaced Gazans under his plan.
Diplomats say Egypt is leading efforts to propose an alternative focused on training a new security force and appointing local Palestinian leaders.
Rubio has said he believed Arab states were "working in good faith".
On Sunday, speaking alongside Netanyahu, he said: "Hamas cannot continue as a military or a government force... they must be eliminated."
The October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,264 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable. —AFP



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