Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed strong support for former US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from war-torn Gaza, declaring that Israel is ready to implement the plan.
In an interview with Fox News aired late Saturday, as he concluded his visit to Washington, Netanyahu described Trump’s proposal as a fresh idea that could transform the future of Gaza.
The plan has faced widespread international criticism, with many in the Middle East condemning it as a forced displacement of Palestinians.
“I think that President Trump’s proposal is the first fresh idea in years, and it has the potential to change everything in Gaza,” Netanyahu said, adding that it represents a “correct approach” to the future of the Palestinian territory.
“All Trump is saying is, ‘I want to open the gate and give them the option to relocate temporarily while we rebuild the place physically’,” Netanyahu said.
He emphasised that Trump never suggested US forces would oversee the process, adding, “Guess what? We’ll do the job.”
Israel occupied Gaza in 1967 and withdrew its settlers and troops in 2005 but has since imposed a blockade on the enclave.
The situation worsened following the October 2023 war, which erupted after a Hamas attack on Israel, leading to unprecedented bombardment and destruction in Gaza, in which Israel has killed over 48,000 people, mostly women and children.
Netanyahu argued that Trump’s plan would prevent Gaza from being taken over by militant groups again.
“We’ve seen the same cycle—Israel leaves, and terrorists take control to launch attacks against us. This plan breaks that pattern,” he said, though he acknowledged the challenge of finding a country willing to accept displaced Gazans.
Under the proposed plan, Palestinians who wish to return to Gaza would have to renounce terrorism, Netanyahu stated.
For many Palestinians, any large-scale displacement evokes memories of the Nakba—the mass expulsion during Israel’s founding in 1948.
Addressing criticism that the plan amounts to forced expulsion, Netanyahu insisted, “Everybody describes Gaza as the biggest open-air prison in the world,” Netanyahu said.
“Get the population out; allow them to leave. Not forcible eviction, not ethnic cleansing—getting people out of what all these countries and all these do-gooders say is an open-air prison. Why are you keeping them in prison?”
He in no time during the interview acknowledged Israel’s role in the destruction of Gaza and the killing of innocent women and children.
