President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza was not about evicting Palestinians

21/2/2025 6:21

The United States' envoy to

the Middle East said on Thursday that President Donald Trump's

plan for Gaza was not about evicting Palestinians, and the

conversation about Gaza's future was being shifted towards how

to create a better future for Palestinians.



Trump proposed on February 4 the U.S. should take over Gaza,

with Palestinians resettled in other places including Egypt and

Jordan, a suggestion which caused an international outcry.



However, speaking at a Miami conference hosted by a

non-profit linked to the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund,

U.S. envoy Steven Witkoff said that Trump's comments on Gaza

were more about trying different solutions to those proposed

over the previous 50 years.



He said that the war between Israel and Hamas has left

much of Gaza destroyed and littered with unexploded ordnance,

and it was impossible to see how people could return.



"It's going to take a lot of clean-up and imagination,

and a great master plan, and that doesn't mean we're on an

eviction plan, when the President talks about this," Steven

Witkoff told the FII Institute event.



"It means he wants to shake up everyone's thinking, and

think about what is compelling and what is the best solution for

the Palestinian people.



"For instance, do they want to live in a home there, or

would they rather have an opportunity to resettle in some sort

of better place, to have jobs, upside and financial prospects,"

he added.