From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 6, 2025
‘The first good idea I’ve heard’: Netanyahu endorses scaled-backed version of Trump’s Gaza plan
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
A day after President Donald Trump called to “permanently” relocate all Palestinians outside of the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorses a scaled-back version of the proposal, calling it “remarkable.”
“This is the first good idea that I’ve heard,” Netanyahu says in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. “It’s a remarkable idea. And I think it should be examined, pursued, and done because I think it will create a different future for everyone.”
Netanyahu seemed to be taken by surprise by Trump’s plan during a joint press conference, and he offered a rather non-committal response to the idea at first.
“I don’t think he talked about sending US troops to complete the job of destroying Hamas,” he tells Hannity. “I also don’t think he said he’s going to fund it. He said that neighboring states, wealthy states, would do it.”
“But the actual idea of allowing Gazans who want to leave to leave,” Netanyahu continues.
“I mean, what’s wrong with that? They can leave, they can then come back, they can relocate and come back.”
Top US officials also sought to walk back some aspects of Trump’s proposal, saying the removal would only be temporary.
Trump had said he hoped Gazans “wouldn’t want to return” to Gaza.
