Amid uproar, top US officials say Trump only seeking to ‘temporarily’ remove Gazans

Top US officials on Wednesday tried to move away from President Donald Trump’s call the day before to “permanently” relocate all Palestinians outside of the Gaza Strip, with the White House and Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressing that Washington’s goal is only to “temporarily” remove them.

Hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, Trump had said he aimed to “get a beautiful area to resettle people permanently,” and that his hope would be that “they wouldn’t want to return.” Asked how many Gazans he intended to relocate, he said, “All of them.”

The US president’s proposal was rejected by allies and adversaries alike. Mediators from Egypt and Qatar warned it could disrupt progress in the ceasefire-hostage release deal between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas that halted 15 months of war that devastated Gaza, leading to Trump’s suggestion that the enclave be emptied out to enable reconstruction.

Trump “has made it very clear… that he expects our partners in the region — particularly Egypt and Jordan — to accept Palestinian refugees temporarily so that we can rebuild their homes,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press conference.

Asked to clarify whether the White House was shifting away from Trump’s talk of “permanent” to “temporary” relocation, Leavitt responded, “The president has made it clear that they need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza for the rebuilding of this effort as it’s a demolition site right now it’s not a livable place for any human being.”

Her staff then flashed pictures on screens behind Leavitt showing the extent of Gaza’s destruction.

“I think it’s actually quite evil to suggest that people should live in such dire conditions,” she said.

Reporters also pressed Leavitt to reconcile Trump’s suggestion that the US could send troops to Gaza with the president’s long-held comments against foreign entanglements, particularly in the Middle East.

“The president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza,” she stressed.

“It’s been very made very clear to the president that the United States needs to be involved in this rebuilding effort to ensure stability in the region for all people… It does not mean American taxpayers will be funding this effort. It means Donald Trump, who is the best deal-maker on the planet, is going to strike a deal with our partners in the region,” Leavitt added.

Asked whether the US will move Palestinians by force if they don’t want to leave, the press secretary avoided answering directly, sufficing with insisting that Trump is committed to relocating Gazans in order to rebuild the Strip.

Leavitt began her remarks by stressing that Trump is “committed to free[ing] all remaining hostages” who were abducted from Israel on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led thousands of terrorists to invade the south of the country, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and triggered the war.

She later added that Hamas cannot be allowed to remain in control of Gaza — two positions that may place the administration at a crossroads, given the belief that Hamas is using the hostages as an insurance policy to remain in power.

Rubio likewise insisted that Trump only wants Palestinians to leave temporarily while Gaza is reconstructed.

Trump’s controversial idea “was not meant as hostile. It was meant as, I think, a very generous move — the offer to rebuild and to be in charge of the rebuilding,” Rubio told reporters on a visit to Guatemala.

His comments seemed to contradict Trump, who, when asked if Palestinians would return to the Strip after leaving, said he hoped “they wouldn’t want to return.”

US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz meanwhile suggested that Trump’s plan need not be the final word on the matter and that allies are encouraged to provide their own alternatives to rebuilding Gaza.

“Everybody’s heart breaks for the Palestinian people across the region, and rightly so, but [Trump is] not seeing any realistic solutions on how those miles and miles and miles of debris are going to be cleared, how those unexploded bombs are going to be removed, how these people are physically going to live for [there] for at least a decade, if not longer that it’s going to take to do this [reconstruction],” Waltz said during an interview with CBS News.

“The fact that nobody has a realistic solution, and he puts some very bold, fresh, new ideas out on the table, I don’t think should be criticized in any way. It’s going to bring the entire region to come up with their own solutions if they don’t like Mr. Trump’s solution,” he added.

Asked whether it matters if the Palestinians might oppose Trump’s plan to remove them from Gaza, Waltz responded, “Of course it does. But one of the key points President Trump made last night was ‘Tell me what real better alternatives they’ve ever been offered?'”

He argued that what Trump is offering is far more enticing for Palestinians than their current situation in Gaza.

Waltz stressed that Trump has not ruled out a future two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but suggested that the Palestinian state would only include the West Bank and not Gaza.

“I certainly didn’t hear the president say it was the end of the two-state solution,” he said.

“You have the Palestinian Authority, you have the West Bank,” Waltz added.

Waltz noted that Trump also said during his press conference when he announced his plan that Palestinians would be allowed to live in Gaza once it is rebuilt.

The top Trump aide said the US is speaking with its allies in the region about the issue, particularly the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Jordan’s King Abdullah is meeting Trump at the White House next week.

“The president is engaging with our key allies in the region and asking for their input, asking for their ideas,” he said.

Waltz also stressed that the US and Israel are aligned in the belief that Hamas cannot remain in Gaza.

“We would not allow ISIS to continue to attack us on our border,” he said referring to the Islamic State terror group. “We’re going to support the Israeli government as they defend themselves.”

‘Could completely upend everything’

Before the comments from the White House and Rubio, Arab mediators from Egypt and Qatar said they were concerned that Trump’s plan may impact the ongoing Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal as Israel and Hamas begin indirect talks regarding the terms of the agreement’s second and third stages, two Arab officials told The Times of Israel.

“The deal is very fragile, and the transition from the first to the second phase was always going to be difficult, but this could completely upend everything,” said one of the Arab officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The second official revealed that Hamas has already indicated to mediators that Trump’s comments may have an effect on how it proceeds in the negotiations regarding phase two. However, the Arab official clarified that Hamas did not provide any specifics.

Hamas said Trump’s proposal “will only put oil on the fire.”

“Our Palestinian people…will not allow any state in the world to occupy our land or impose guardianship on our great Palestinian people who have offered rivers of blood to liberate our land from occupation and to establish our state with Jerusalem as its capital,” it said Wednesday in a statement.

Earlier, Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou, characterized Trump’s plan as a “racist stance,” aligned “with the Israeli extreme right’s position.”

Fellow Gaza-based terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad said “Trump’s positions and plans are a dangerous escalation that threatens Arab and regional national security.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also hit back at Trump’s proposal. Abbas and the Palestinian leadership “expressed their strong rejection of calls to seize the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians outside their homeland,” his office said in a statement, adding that “legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable.”

Egypt gave strong support to Abbas, calling for the authority to govern the Gaza Strip. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged the swift reconstruction of Gaza, without the displacement of Palestinians. In talks with PA Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa in Cairo, the two agreed on “the importance of moving forward with early recovery projects” and “at an accelerated pace.”

Egypt and Jordan, key US allies, have both said they would not participate in Trump’s plan to “clean out” the territory, calling for the implementation of a two-state solution.

“His Majesty King Abdullah II stresses the need to put a stop to (Israeli) settlement expansion, expressing rejection of any attempts to annex land and displace the Palestinians,” said a statement on behalf of the Jordanian monarch.

The Arab League said that Trump’s plan would violate international law and promote “the displacement of Palestinians, which is rejected on the Arab and international levels.”

The 22-member regional bloc warned that such a move, after more than 15 months of devastating war between Israel and Hamas, was “a recipe for instability” and would be in “violation of international law.”

UN rights chief Volker Turk said international law was “very clear” that “any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told state-run Anadolu Agency that Trump’s proposal “is wrong and absurd.”

The Gaza Strip “belongs to the Palestinians,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said. “The civilian population of Gaza must not be expelled and Gaza must not be permanently occupied or repopulated.”

However, Baerbock said Hamas, “must no longer play a role” in the territory.

France and Spain also criticized the plan, as did Russia, China, Brazil, Australia, Ireland and Indonesia.

Trump however remained undeterred.

“Everybody loves it,” he told reporters Wednesday in the Oval Office when asked about the reaction to his plan. Trump then said it was “not the right time” for further questions as he was overseeing the swearing-in of new US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Kushner’s reported involvement

According to a report Wednesday, former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is reportedly behind his father-in-law’s Gaza plan.

Kushner was involved in crafting Trump’s prepared remarks for taking over Gaza that he made alongside Netanyahu at the White House, the Puck outlet reported, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter.

Netanyahu had not requested that Trump pursue such a plan ahead of time, Puck added.

Kushner, originally a real estate scion, now runs a private equity firm fueled by investments from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

However, he remains involved behind the scenes, advising on Trump’s Middle Eastern strategy, helping select appointees, and guiding certain cabinet members through the transition, a source familiar with his work recently told Reuters.

Kushner, who helped broker a series of normalization agreements between Israel and Arab nations, has been advising Steve Witkoff, a longtime Trump friend and donor, on his new job as special envoy to the Middle East.

He appeared to hint at the entire idea of revamping Gaza in a speech he gave last year.

“Gaza’s waterfront property — it could be very valuable, if people would focus on building up livelihoods,” Kushner said during an event at Harvard.

“It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but I think from Israel’s perspective, I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up,” Kushner added. “But I don’t think that Israel has stated that they don’t want the people to move back there afterward.”

Kushner’s comments were widely panned, with critics suggesting Kushner wanted to expel the Palestinians and privately develop the land.

Responding on X at the time to “those dishonestly using selected parts” of his remarks, Kushner posted a video of the entire Harvard interaction, saying he stood by his comments.

For those dishonestly using selected parts of my remarks from 1 month ago at Harvards @Kennedy_School to sensationalize, here they are in full….

I expressed my dismay that the Palestinian people have watched their leaders squander decades of Western aid on tunnels and weapons… https://t.co/Job4eKaaOn

— Jared Kushner (@jaredkushner) March 19, 2024

He has said that, when listened to in full, the recording demonstrates he was only making a point about the misuse of resources by Hamas to build tunnels and attack infrastructure rather than foster a peaceful economy.