Trump- Netanyahu talks: Trump proposes US take over Gaza, forcibly remove all Palestinians

WASHINGTON, Apr 8: President Donald Trump met at the White House Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where Trump again suggested ethnically cleansing Gaza of its Palestinian population.

Trump has already mused about moving Gaza's population to Jordan and Egypt, which those countries have flatly rejected, but on Tuesday he went even further and said the United States should "own" Gaza and develop it into a seaside tourist destination.

"Nothing has been more destabilizing for the region over the last eight decades than the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Israel, and nobody at any level is going to sign up for a continuation of that," says Palestinian American analyst Yousef Munayyer, who calls Trump's plan "ethically and morally repugnant." We also speak with former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy, who says Israeli society is currently "giddy with excitement" over Trump's presidency.
Trump and Netanyahu met to discussed about countries that could take forcibly displaced Palestinians from Gaza.

During the meeting on Monday, Trump reiterated that he would like the US to take over and control Gaza, adding, "controlling and owning Gaza would be a good thing".

"I don't understand why Israel ever gave up Gaza," he further stated.

Following the meeting, Netanyahu said: "We're working now on another deal, that we hope will succeed," he said, referring to an agreement that would free the remaining captives.

The meeting has been slammed by many, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, who wrote on X: "Let's be clear: nothing about this is voluntary - it would mean the coerced deportation of 2 million people from Haza and US taxpayers should have nothing to do with it".

On Monday, reports stated that Israel has already started its plan to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza, with deportation flights commencing from Ramon Airport, Israel's interior minister, Moshe Arbel, said.

Arbel announced that more than 16 flights carrying Palestinians from Gaza had departed from Ramon Airport, in what appears to be a state-backed effort to forcibly remove Palestinian residents from the besieged enclave under the guise of "voluntary migration".

"I can say that this will likely increase in the coming period," the minister added.

He did not, however, specify the aircraft's size or capacity, the number of passengers from the Gaza Strip, or their destination. �"AGENCIES