Some Israelis praised US President Donald Trump’s proposal to transfer the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and rebuild it as a tourist destination.
"As someone who served eight months in Gaza in the last reserve, I think it is absolutely necessary to agree with Trump’s plan to evacuate all the Arabs from there and build ... anything other than what is there today," said Yaniv Cohen, a reservist soldier.
Israeli leaders also welcomed the plan, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling Trump at the White House: "You say things others refuse to say. And after the jaws drop, people scratch their heads and they say, ‘You know he’s right.’"
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister in charge of settlement approval, thanked Trump for his comments.
Benny Gantz, a centrist politician and former general long seen as a more moderate alternative to Netanyahu, said Trump’s proposal showed "creative, original and intriguing thinking," but that it should be studied alongside other war goals, "prioritizing the return of all the hostages."
There has not yet been a large-scale poll in Israel that would gauge a wider reaction to Trump’s comments, and many may find the plan extreme. Most Israelis are focused on bringing home the hostages remaining in Gaza, which appears less likely if Trump presses ahead with his proposal.
Robby Davidson, another Jerusalem resident, said he "loved" the plan because it would guarantee there was "no danger to us there in the south."
A Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered the 15-month war in Gaza, and many former residents are reluctant to return to the border area because they distrust the ability of Israel’s military to protect them from future attacks.
In comments made on Tuesday during a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump raised the prospect of relocating the more than 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza, suggesting it had become uninhabitable after nearly 16 months of war between Israel and Hamas.
Trump said the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere, actions that would shatter decades of US policy toward the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
