Witkoff: Better life for Palestinians not necessarily tied to the physical space they now inhabit
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

WASHINGTON — US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff says Palestinians need not be tied to the land where they now live in order to have a better life, as the Trump administration rallies around the president’s idea to relocate Palestinians out of Gaza.
“Peace in the region means a better life for the Palestinians. A better life is not necessarily tied to the physical space that you are in today,” Witkoff says in an interview with Fox News.
“A better life is about better opportunity, better financial conditions, better aspirations for you and your family. That doesn’t occur because you get to pitch a tent in the Gaza Strip and you’re surrounded by 30,000 munitions that could go off at any moment,” Witkoff says.
“The president is saying, ‘Let’s make it better for these people. Let’s give them more hope. Let them make that choice.’ And I think he’s right,” he adds.
Asked what message Trump is trying to send to the Middle East after the president declared that he wants the US to “own” Gaza, Witkoff responds, “He’s telling the Middle East that the last 50 years of doing things was not the correct way of doing things, and he’s going to change it up.
He “is telling the Middle East he wants to be transparent with the Palestinian people,” he says.
“Gaza today is uninhabitable and will probably be uninhabitable for at least the next 10 to 15 years,” Witkoff adds.
Witkoff said earlier Tuesday that he will meet on Thursday with the prime minister of Qatar to discuss the ongoing hostage talks.