Full text: With Netanyahu in Oval Office, Trump talks of ‘permanently’ resettling Gazans

The following is the text of remarks by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reporters in the Oval Office on February 4, 2025.

This is a transcription by The Times of Israel; the White House did not issue an official transcript.

At times, multiple reporters were shouting questions, some of which were inaudible, and at times it was not entirely clear what Trump and Netanyahu were responding to.

Question: Mr. President, do you expect phase two of the hostage deal to go forward?

Question: Mr. President, you managed to get this deal done. Some say, a lot of people say, that the men who managed to do that should get a Nobel Peace Prize. Do you think that you’ll be able to get all the hostages back home, and what would happen if you hear from the Israelis that…?

President Donald Trump: They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me.

Question: For normalization to go forward, what needs to happen for normalization with Saudi Arabia?

Trump: Well, we’re going to see, and we’re dealing with a lot of people, and we have steps to go yet, as you know. And maybe those steps go forward, and maybe they don’t. We’re dealing with a very complex group of people — situation, and people.

But we have the right man. We have the right leader of Israel. He’s done a great job, and we’ve been friends for a long time. We do a great job also, and I think we have a combination that’s very unbeatable, actually.

Question: Mr President, what would happen if you hear from the Israeli side today that they’re not willing to go through with the deal to get all the hostages back home and finish the war?

Trump: We’ll see what happens. Whatever happens, we’ll be prepared to handle the situation.

Question: Are the Saudis demanding a Palestinian state?

Trump: No, they’re not.

Question: Are they demanding a path toward a Palestinian state or any other recognition?

Trump: Everybody’s demanding one thing. You know what it is? Peace. We want peace. We want people to stop being killed. Everybody’s demanding one thing — very simple: peace. And he [Netanyahu] wants peace also.

Question: Mr. President, do you think it’s politically possible in Israel to get this deal done until the end?

Trump: To get the deal done? Yeah, sure. Why wouldn’t a deal get done? A deal can get done. We’ll see what happens. We’re dealing with very complicated people, but a deal can absolutely get done.

Question: Mr President, … (inaudible) reports… Israeli strike on Iran.

Trump: We’ll see what happens.

Question: Prime Minister Netanyahu, we’ve heard Joe Biden and Donald Trump take credit for the hostage and ceasefire deal. Who do you think deserves more credit?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: I think President Trump added great force and powerful leadership to this effort. I appreciate it. He sent a very good emissary. He’s helped it along, and, you know, I’ll just tell you, I’m happy that they’re here, and I’m sure the president is happy that they’re here, and I would think that’s about enough.

Question: Prime Minister, what about Elizabeth Tsurkov, the Israeli hostage held in Iraq?

Netanyahu: What about the Israeli press taking a press conference in Israel and not in Washington?

Question: We would love to take a press conference, we want to interview you, Prime Minister Netanyahu… Do you support going forward with this deal and getting all the hostages out?

Netanyahu: I support getting all the hostages out, and meeting all our war goals. That includes destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and making sure that Gaza never poses a threat to Israel again. All three.

Question: You promised to the families that you’d get them out…

Netanyahu: I think that I should talk to President Trump, okay?

Question: Do you agree with Trump’s vision of getting all the hostages back home, even if it means to end the war?

Netanyahu: Well, I’m not sure you’ve articulated correctly what the president’s vision is. You can ask him; he can speak for himself. He does that very, very well. I have my own views — three goals; not one, not two; three goals, and I will meet all three goals. I think the president can help enormously. He brings fresh thinking.

Question: Can you address the fact that terrorists who murdered hundreds of people are released to their homes as part of the deal?

Trump [relating to October 7]: It’s a horrible thing. We can’t forget it. I’ll never forget it, and you can’t forget it. Some people want to put it out of their memory, but we’re not going to ever let that happen. It was a horrible day. October 7th was a horrible period of time, and a lot of people like to pretend it didn’t happen. It happened. It’s a big group of people that like to pretend it didn’t happen, like the Holocaust didn’t happen — same mindset.

No, we’re going to get this thing wrapped up, and we’re going to get it done. We’re also dealing, I think, very successfully with Russia and Ukraine. We’re going to hopefully get that one done at some point in the not-too-distant future. That’s a complex problem also, but we solve problems.

You know, when I left, we had no problem. There was no Ukraine and Russia fighting, there was no October 7th. There was nothing. Some very poor leadership led to a lot of problems and a lot of death, and it’s a shame, but we’ll put out the fires. We have a lot of fires, but we’ll put them out.

Question: … support the Palestinian State, like the peace plan you presented in January 2020? Is this plan still on the table?

Trump: Well, a lot of plans change with time, and a lot of death has occurred since I left and now came back. This death occurred not while I was here but while somebody else was here. It shouldn’t have happened. They shouldn’t have allowed it to happen. It would have never happened, and that includes Russia and Ukraine would have never happened — not even a little bit, not even a chance.

But now we are faced with a situation that’s different, in some ways better and in some ways worse. But we’re faced with a very complex and difficult situation, but we’ll solve the problem.

Question: If not Jordan and Egypt, what other countries do you think might accept Palestinians from Gaza?

Trump: Well, I think Jordan and Egypt will. I know they’ve spoken about it with you, and they say they’re not going to accept them. I say they will, but I think other countries will accept also. I think that Gaza maybe is a demolition site right now. If you look at Gaza, it’s all, I mean, it’s hardly a building standing, and the ones that are, are going to collapse. You can’t live in Gaza right now, and I think we need another location. I think it should be a location that’s going to make people happy.

You look over the decades — it’s all death in Gaza. This has been happening for years. It’s all death. If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people permanently in nice homes, and where they can be happy and not be shot, not be killed, not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza. And right now, you have in Gaza a very dangerous situation in terms of explosives all over the place, in terms of tunnels that nobody knows who’s in the tunnel. The whole thing is a mess.

And I think that if we can resettle — and I believe we can do it — in areas where the leaders currently say no. I mean, I’ve been saying that with Mexico, having to do with the border and all the things, and you saw what happened: 10,000 soldiers, and they’re going to do a good job. I really believe that. And I believe Canada is going to do a good job also. They said the same thing, and then they did something much different than what you were hearing.

This is a very, very difficult situation, but we’re going to get it solved. I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza. I think that Gaza has been very unlucky for them. They’ve lived like hell. They live like, you’re living in hell. Gaza is not a place for people to be living, and the only reason they want to go back — and I believe this strongly — is because they have no alternative. What’s the alternative? Go where? There’s no other alternative. If they had an alternative, they’d much rather not go back to Gaza, and live in a beautiful alternative that’s safe.

Question: Would Palestinians have the right to return to Gaza if they left while the rebuilding was happening?

Trump: It would be my hope that we could do something really nice, really good, where they wouldn’t want to return. Why would they want to return? The place has been hell.

Question: Because it’s their home, sir, why would they leave…?

Trump: It’s been one of the meanest, one of the toughest places on Earth. And right now, it’s, I’ve seen every picture from every angle, better than if I were there. And nobody can live there. You can’t live there.

So if we can build them, through massive amounts of money, supplied by other people, very rich nations — and they’re willing to supply it — if we can build something for them in one of the countries. And it could be Jordan, it could be Egypt, it could be other countries. And you could build four or five or six areas. It doesn’t have to be one area. But you take certain areas and you build really good quality housing, like a beautiful town, like someplace where they can live and not die.

Because Gaza is a guarantee that they’re going to end up dying. The same thing’s going to happen again. It’s happened over and over again, and it’s going to happen again, as sure as you’re standing there, Peter. So, I hope that we could do something where they wouldn’t want to go back. Who would want to go back? They’ve experienced nothing but death and destruction…

Question: If Egypt and Jordan tell you no, what will you do then?

Trump: Well, I don’t think they’re going to tell me no… I think they’re going to tell  Biden no, and I think they’re going to tell other people no.

Question: So you think it will happen at the end?

Trump: I think there’s a good chance, yeah.

Question: How many people are you thinking about?

Trump: All of them.

Question: All of the Gazans.

Trump: I mean, we’re talking about probably a million seven people, maybe a million eight. But I think all of them. I think they’ll be resettled in areas where they can live a beautiful life and not be worried about dying every day.

Question: Mr. President, do you support building Jewish settlements back in Gaza in the next years?

Trump: I don’t see it happening. It’s too dangerous for people. Nobody can go there, it’s too dangerous. Nobody wants to be there. Warriors don’t want to be there, soldiers don’t want to be there.

How can you have people go back? You’re saying, “Go back into Gaza now”? The same thing’s going to happen. It’ll only be death. The best way to do it is you go out and you get beautiful, open areas with the sunlight coming through, and you build something nice. They are not going to want to go back to Gaza.

Question: Prime Minister, what is your message to the families of the hostages that look at this deal, they worry that this deal won’t go through? What do you say to them at this moment?

Netanyahu: Same message I said from the beginning of the war: get them out, get them back. We got over 70%, close to 75%, of the people who everybody believed would not get out. We got them in successive deals, and most recently with the help of President Trump. We’re not going to give up on any of them, and we’re not going to give up on our other war aims. Hamas is not going to be in Gaza, and we’re going to get everyone back.

Question: Prime minister, how optimistic are you about reaching phase two of the ceasefire?

Netanyahu: We’re going to try. That’s one of the reasons, one of the things we’re going to talk about here. And if we… You know, when Israel and the United States work together, and President Trump and I work together, you know the chances go up a lot. It’s when we don’t work together, Israel and the United States don’t work together, that creates problems. When the other side sees daylight between us, and occasionally in the last few years, to put it mildly, they saw daylight, then it’s more difficult. When we cooperate, chances are good.

Question: Now that Iran is so weak, isn’t it the right time … for Israel… to hit the nuclear facilities once and for all?

Trump: So you say Iran is so weak. I appreciate you saying that. They’re not weak, they’re very strong right now, and we’re not going to allow them to have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple. You know, I signed a very strong proclamation. Iran was in big trouble when I left. They were broke, they didn’t have money for Hamas, they didn’t have any money for Hezbollah. You had no problem. October 7th could have never happened. When I left, October 7th could have never happened, and frankly, Russia and Ukraine, as I said, could never have happened.

They became very strong, very fast. They sold massive amounts of oil to China and everybody else, who would not buy the oil when I was president, because we said: ‘Don’t buy the oil’. And they became very rich, very quickly. But they’re not weak. They’re not weak. They’re strong. Doesn’t mean they won’t be weak. But you know what, we just don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon. They can’t have a nuclear weapon.

Israeli reporter to Trump: The prime minister wants you to strike Iran. That’s what he wants.

Trump: You don’t know what he wants. What do you know about anything?

Question: Sorry sir, the prime minister wants you to strike Iran. That’s what he wants.

Trump: You don’t know what he wants. What do you know about anything?

Question: But is that option on the table, President Trump?

Question: … Gaza. You’re not just talking about Jordan and Egypt…

Trump: No, could be other places too. There are many people that have reached out, many countries, many leaders of countries, that have reached out that would like to participate in that. Doesn’t have to be Jordan and Egypt, but I think it would be also them.

Question: Mr. President, your relationship with Mr. Netanyahu knew ups and downs. How do you describe it right now?

Trump: I think it’s mostly ups.

Mr. President, the Palestinian Authority, could it rule Gaza, because Gaza will be empty? … Can it rule Gaza?

Well, it’s had a pretty hard time, wouldn’t you say? I’d say it’s had a pretty bad time of it.

Mr. President, Qatar — you’ve criticized them in the past as a funder of terrorism. So has the prime minister. Do you think they’re part of the solution or part of a problem moving forward?

I think they’re trying to help. Qatar is absolutely trying to help. I know them very well, and they’re doing everything they can. Very tough situation, but they’re absolutely trying to help.

Question: Will you visit Israel?

Trump: Thank you very much.