President Donald Trump said Monday that a precarious ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas should be canceled if Hamas doesn\u2019t release all the remaining hostages it is holding in Gaza by midday on Saturday \u2014 though he also acknowledged that such a decision would be up to Israel.<\/p>\n
In comments to reporters after signing a series of executive orders, Trump said, \u201cIf they\u2019re not here, all hell is going to break out\u201d and said he feared many scheduled for release are actually already dead.<\/p>\n
Trump also said, however, \u201cI\u2019m speaking for myself. Israel can override it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those comments came after Trump said in an interview with Fox News Channel that Palestinians in Gaza would not have a right to return under his plan for U.S. \u201cownership\u201d of the war-torn territory \u2014 contradicting other officials in his administration who have sought to argue Trump was only calling for the temporary relocation of its population.<\/p>\n
Less than a week after he floated his plan for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and turn it into \u201cthe Riviera of the Middle East,\u201d Trump, in an interview with Fox News\u2019 Bret Baier airing Monday, said \u201cNo, they wouldn\u2019t\u201d when asked if Palestinians in Gaza would have a right to return to the territory. It comes as he has ramped up pressure on Arab states, especially U.S. allies Jordan and Egypt, to take in Palestinians from Gaza, who claim the territory as part of a future homeland.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll build safe communities, a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIn the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arab nations have sharply criticized the Trump proposal, and Trump is set to host Jordan\u2019s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday. In addition to concerns about jeopardizing the long-held goals of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Egypt and Jordan have privately raised security concerns about welcoming large numbers of additional refugees into their countries even temporarily.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s comments risked jeopardizing the already tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza after 15 months of war, with the existing framework for negotiations calling for the massive humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for civilians in Gaza.<\/p>\n
After Trump\u2019s initial comments last week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Secretary of State Marco Rubio respectfully insisted that Trump only wanted Palestinians relocated from Gaza \u201ctemporarily\u201d and for an \u201cinterim\u201d period to allow for debris removal, the disposal of unexploded ordnance and reconstruction.<\/p>\n
Trump last week didn\u2019t rule out deploying U.S. troops to help secure the territory but at the same time insisted no U.S. funds would go to pay for the reconstruction of Gaza, raising fundamental questions about the nature of his plan.<\/p>\n
Egypt on Monday reiterated its rejection to the transfer of Palestinians from their territories in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, warning that such proposals threaten \u201cthe foundations of people\u201d in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem its capital is the base for \u201ccomprehensive and just peace\u201d in the region.<\/p>\n
The statement said Egypt rejects any violations to the Palestinians\u2019 \u201cright of self-determination \u2026 and independence,\u201d and \u201cupholds the right of return for Palestinian refugees who were forced to leave their homeland,\u201d in a reference to hundreds of thousands who were forced to flee their homes in what is now Israel during the 1948 war.<\/p>\n
A senior Hamas official blasted Trump\u2019s latest remarks about the U.S. ownership of Gaza as \u201cabsurd.\u201d<\/p>\n
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas\u2019 politico bureau, said these comments \u201creflect a deep ignorance of Palestine and the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
In comments released by Hamas early Monday, he said Trump\u2019s approach toward the Palestinian cause will fail.<\/p>\n
\u201cDealing with the Palestinian cause with the mentality of a real estate dealer is a recipe for failure,\u201d he said. \u201cOur Palestinian people will thwart all transfer and deportation plans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source: AP
\n–Agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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