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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Donald Trump isn’t committing to deploying U.S. troops to Gaza aft suggesting Tuesday that the U.S. would "take over" the Gaza strip.
"It's been made precise wide to the president that the United States needs to beryllium progressive successful this rebuilding effort, to guarantee stableness successful the portion for each people," Leavitt told reporters Wednesday astatine a White House property briefing. "But that does not mean boots connected the crushed successful Gaza. It does not mean American taxpayers volition beryllium backing this effort. It means Donald Trump, who is the champion dealmaker connected the planet, is going to onslaught a woody with our partners successful a region."
Leavitt said that Trump is an "outside of the container thinker" who is "a visionary person who solves problems that galore others, particularly successful this city, assertion are unsolvable."
TRUMP SAYS US WILL ‘TAKE OVER’ GAZA STRIP, REBUILD IT TO STABLIZE MIDDLE EAST
Trump announced Tuesday that the U.S. would "take over" the Gaza Strip successful a "long-term ownership position" to present stableness to the region.
"The U.S. volition instrumentality implicit the Gaza Strip, and we volition bash a occupation with it, too," Trump said Tuesday evening successful a associated property league with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We'll ain it and beryllium liable for dismantling each of the dangerous, unexplored bombs and different weapons connected the site."
"Level the tract and get escaped of the destroyed buildings, level it out, make an economical improvement that volition proviso unlimited numbers of jobs and lodging for the radical of the area," helium said. "Do a existent job. Do thing different. Just can't spell back. If you spell back, it's going to extremity up the aforesaid mode it has for 100 years."
Trump said that "all" Palestinians would beryllium removed from Gaza nether his plan.
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But the connection has sparked monolithic backlash, including from Palestinian, Iran-backed militant radical Hamas, designated by the U.S. arsenic a violent organization.
"What President Trump stated astir his volition to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip extracurricular it and the United States' power implicit the Strip by unit is simply a transgression against humanity," a elder Hamas authoritative told Fox News connected Wednesday.
Trump’s statements besides near Democratic lawmakers successful shock.
"I’m speechless, that’s insane," Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told Jewish Insider. "I can’t deliberation of a spot connected Earth that would invited American troops little and wherever immoderate affirmative result is little likely."
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Some Republicans besides voiced caution, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Jewish Insider that the connection "might beryllium problematic," but that helium would "keep an unfastened mind."
"We’ll spot what our Arab friends accidental astir that. I deliberation astir South Carolinians would not beryllium excited astir sending Americans to instrumentality implicit Gaza," Graham said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., didn’t look phased by the remarks.
"I deliberation helium wants to bring a much peaceful, unafraid Middle East and enactment immoderate ideas retired there," Thune told reporters Wednesday.
Fox News’ Emma Colton and Greg Norman contributed to this report.
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