Not 'hostile': Trump administration backtracks from US President's Gaza 'take over' remark
World | Discover how Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt attempt to calm tensions by clarifying Donald Trump's proposed Gaza take over.
A day after US President Donald Trump announced his plan to take over Gaza, his administration on Wednesday (Feb 5) seemed to backtrack from his proposal. Amid global criticism of the American president's plan, Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to placate the situation, insisting any transfer would be temporary. Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt assured US citizens that their money would not fund the reconstruction of Gaza which has been battered by a war for 15 months.
On Tuesday (Feb 4) Trump declared that "The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it," to audible gasps during a White House press conference.
Also read | 'War on women sports'? Donald Trump signs order banning transgender athletes from women's sports
A 'generous move'
Facing a wave of criticism from world leaders, Palestinians, and Arab governments, among others, Trump's Secretary of State Rubio said that the idea was not meant to be "hostile" and was a "generous move — the offer to rebuild and to be in charge of the rebuilding".
Trump insists that "everybody loves" the plan, but White House Press Secretary Leavitt had to elaborate on Rubio's comment and reassure Americans that Washington, or rather their tax money, would not fund Gaza's reconstruction.
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US involvement "does not mean boots on the ground" or that "American taxpayers will be funding this effort", said Leavitt.
'Ethnic cleansing'?
Trump's proposal was labelled an attempt at "ethnic cleansing" by the United Nations.
In a speech to a UN committee that deals with the rights of Palestinians, Secretary-General António Guterres said, "At its essence, the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people is about the right of Palestinians to simply live as human beings in their own land".
The UN chief's spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, previewing Guterres's speech, told the press: "Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing."
Also read | Five key barriers to Trump’s Gaza control plan
Meanwhile, France President Emanuel Macron and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also said that any forced displacement of the Palestinians would be unacceptable.
"It would be a serious violation of international law, an obstacle to the two-state solution and a major destabilising force for Egypt and Jordan," they said, according to a statement from the French president's office.
Watch | PM Netanyahu, Israelis welcome Trump's plan to empty out Gaza
(With inputs from agencies)
