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Egypt announced connected Sunday it volition big a acme of Arab leaders connected Feb. 27 to sermon the aboriginal of the Gaza Strip aft President Donald Trump signaled helium wants the U.S. to ain it.
Trump’s stunning declaration, made past week aft gathering with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reiterated implicit the weekend, rankled cardinal U.S. allies successful the Middle East, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Egypt’s overseas ministry said the gathering successful Cairo would see discussions connected "the authorities of Palestine that asked to clasp the acme successful bid to sermon caller and unsafe developments for the Palestinian cause."
Gaza’s Arab neighbors besides dismissed Trump’s calls for them to instrumentality successful the 1.8 cardinal Palestinians inactive surviving successful the Strip.
While galore of Trump’s allies surmised the bold proposition was a negotiating tactic, Trump reasserted to reporters Sunday nighttime arsenic helium was leaving the Super Bowl that helium was committed to "buying and owning" Gaza.
"I'm committed to buying and owning Gaza. As acold arsenic america rebuilding it, we whitethorn springiness it to different states successful the Middle East to physique sections of it. Other radical whitethorn bash it done our auspices. But we're committed to owning it, taking it, and making definite that Hamas doesn't determination back," helium said.
"There's thing to determination backmost successful to. The spot is simply a demolition site... The remainder volition beryllium demolished," helium added. "But we'll marque it into a precise bully tract for aboriginal improvement by somebody."
The ceasefire betwixt Israel and Hamas, agreed to successful January and partially brokered by Trump's team, calls for a three- to five-year reconstruction phase, but Trump officials present importune it volition instrumentality much similar 10 to 15 years to rebuild the 139-square-mile territory that has been leveled by Israel’s violative against Hamas.
Trump insisted Palestinians bash not privation to spell backmost to Gaza.
"We're going to marque definite they unrecorded beautifully and successful harmony and bid and that they're not murdered," helium said. "They don't privation to spell backmost to Gaza. They lone spell backmost due to the fact that they person nary alternative."
TRUMP REMAINS COMMITTED TO US OWNING GAZA, SAYS MIDDLE EAST STATES COULD HELP REBUILD WAR-TORN AREA
Jordan’s King Abdullah II is owed to conscionable with Trump astatine the White House connected Tuesday, and Trump is expected to clasp talks with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman successful the coming days.
The Palestinian panic radical Hamas connected Sunday called Trump’s latest comments "absurd."
"Gaza is not a spot that tin beryllium bought and sold, and it is an integral portion of our occupied Palestinian land," Izzat al-Risheq, a subordinate of the Hamas governmental bureau, wrote connected Telegram.
"Dealing with the Palestinian contented with the mentality of a existent property trader is simply a look for failure," al-Risheq added.
ARAB AMERICANS FOR TRUMP GROUP CHANGES NAME AFTER PRESIDENT'S GAZA TAKEOVER PROPOSAL
"Our Palestinian radical volition thwart each displacement and deportation plans. Gaza belongs to its people."
Also connected Sunday, Israel began withdrawing from the Netzarim corridor successful Gaza arsenic Palestinians instrumentality to their homes determination – some sides honoring a tenuous ceasefire that is expected to instrumentality location Israel's remaining hostages.
However, negotiations for the mid- and semipermanent aboriginal are ongoing. Hamas wants each Israeli troops retired of Gaza, portion Israel wants Hamas eliminated.
Last week, White House nationalist information advisor Mike Waltz suggested Trump's comments would crook up the vigor connected the Middle East to find its ain solutions.
"I deliberation it's going to bring the full portion to travel with their ain solutions," Waltz mused astir the comments connected CBS connected Wednesday.
Waltz went on, adding, "He's not seeing immoderate realistic solutions connected however those miles and miles and miles of debris are going to beryllium clear, however those fundamentally unexploded bombs are going to beryllium removed, however these radical are physically going to unrecorded determination for astatine slightest a decade, if not longer, it's going to instrumentality to bash this."
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