From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
US national security adviser says allies encouraged to suggest own solutions to Gaza
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz suggests that President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza 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 [there] for at least a decade, if not longer that it’s going to take to do this [reconstruction],” Waltz says 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 adds.
Asked whether it matters if the Palestinians might oppose Trump’s plan to remove them from Gaza, Waltz responds, “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 argues that what Trump is offering is far more enticing for Palestinians than their current situation in Gaza.
