WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Palestinians would have no right of return to Gaza under his US takeover plan, describing his proposal in excerpts of an interview released Monday as a “real estate development for the future.”
Trump told Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier that “I would own it” and that there could be as many as six different sites for Palestinians to live outside Gaza under the plan, which the Arab world and others in the international community have rejected.
“No, they wouldn’t, because they’re going to have much better housing,” Trump said when Baier asked if the Palestinians would have the right to return to the enclave, most of which has been reduced to rubble by Israel’s military since October 2023.
“In other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them because if they have to return now, it’ll be years before you could ever — it’s not habitable.”
Trump first revealed the shock Gaza plan during a joint news conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, drawing outrage from Palestinians.
The US president pressed his case for Palestinians to be moved out of Gaza, devastated by the Israel-Hamas war, and for Egypt and Jordan to take them.
In the Fox interview — which will be broadcast Monday after the first half was screened a day earlier — Trump said he would build “beautiful communities” for the more than two million Palestinians who live in Gaza.
“Could be five, six, could be two. But we’ll build safe communities, a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is,” added Trump.
“In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent.”
Trump stunned the world when he announced out of the blue last week that the United States would “take over the Gaza Strip,” remove rubble and unexploded bombs and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
But while he initially said that Palestinians could be among the “world people” allowed to live there, he has since appeared to harden his position to suggest that they could not.
Netanyahu on Sunday praised Trump’s proposal as “revolutionary,” striking a triumphant tone in a statement to his cabinet following his return from Washington.
“President Trump came with a completely different, much better vision for Israel,” said Netanyahu, who was reportedly only briefed on the plan shortly before Trump’s announcement.
The reaction from much of the rest of the world has been one of outrage, with Egypt, Jordan, other Arab nations and the Palestinians all rejecting it out of hand.
The criticism was not limited to the Arab world, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday labeling the plan “a scandal,” adding that the forced relocation of Palestinians would be “unacceptable and against international law.”
Trump’s plan has also threatened to disrupt the fragile six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and the chances of it progressing to a second, more permanent phase.
Trump, however, repeated his insistence that he could persuade Egypt and Jordan, both major recipients of US military aid, to come around.
“I think I could make a deal with Jordan. I think I could make a deal with Egypt. You know, we give them billions and billions of dollars a year,” he told Fox.
Last year, Trump described Gaza as being “like Monaco,” while his son-in-law Jared Kushner suggested that Israel could clear Gaza of civilians to unlock “waterfront property.”
Trump: Palestinians have no right of return under Gaza plan
https://arab.news/nqnu4
Trump: Palestinians have no right of return under Gaza plan
- Trump told Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier that “I would own it” and that there could be as many as six different sites for Palestinians to live outside Gaza
Israeli left-wing leader calls for immediate end to Gaza war
- Netanyahu’s government does not represent vast majority of people, Yair Golan says
JERUSALEM: Israeli left-wing opposition leader Yair Golan called on Monday for an immediate end to the Gaza war and said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government no longer represented most Israelis.
“Today the government of Israel does not represent the vast majority of Israelis,” said Golan, chairman of the Democrats party and a former deputy army chief, days before a planned parliament vote which the opposition hopes would trigger a general election.
He told journalists in a briefing that after more than 20 months of fighting, Israel “should end the war as soon as possible.”
Golan’s party, a conglomeration of left-wing factions, has only four seats in Israel’s 120-member legislature, making it one of its smallest political groups.
But in a country where coalition building is essential to achieving a political majority, even relatively small parties can wield considerable power.
FASTFACT
Yair Golan’s party, a conglomeration of left-wing factions, has only four seats in Israel’s 120-member legislature, making it one of its smallest political groups.
Golan, a former deputy minister in a short-lived administration that replaced Netanyahu in 2021-2022, said that the current government — one of the most right-wing in Israel’s history — was a threat to democracy.
The opposition leader said he represents those “who want to save Israeli democracy ... from a corrupted future” and the “messianic-like and nationalistic and extremist vision of a very small faction in the Israeli society.”
“The vast majority wants to keep Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and at the same time a free, egalitarian and democratic state,” Golan said.
He said that the vast majority of Israelis wanted to see an immediate end to the war in Gaza, the return of all hostages held by Palestinian militants in a single exchange deal, and the establishment of a national commission of inquiry into Hamas’s unprecedented 2023 attack, arguing that the Netanyahu government was opposed to these objectives.
“I believe that we can reach a hostage deal in a matter of days,” Golan said.
“I believe that by ending the war and freeing the hostages, we will be able to build an alternative to Hamas inside the Gaza Strip.”
Criticizing the government’s Gaza war policies, the former army general has recently drawn condemnation in Israel for saying that “a sane country ... does not kill babies for a hobby.”
Golan on Monday also said that most Israelis support legislation that would require ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, who are currently largely exempt from military service, to enlist.
The issue has sparked tension between Netanyahu and ultra-Orthodox parties in his government, with lawmakers threatening to topple the prime minister if no agreement is reached this week.
Some opposition parties are seeking to place a bill to dissolve parliament on Wednesday’s plenary agenda, hoping to capitalize on the ultra-Orthodox revolt.
“The vast majority wants new elections as soon as possible,” Golan said.
King Abdullah II urges global ocean action at UN conference, holds key talks on Middle East stability
- Jordanian ruler highlights threat to ‘vital shared resource’ from climate change, overexploitation, biodiversity loss
- King warns of dangerous consequences of further escalation in West Bank and Jerusalem, and calls for renewal of ceasefire
LONDON: King Abdullah II delivered Jordan’s national address at the third United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice on Monday, underlining the urgent need for global action to protect oceans and marine life, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The week-long conference, co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, has brought together hundreds of international leaders, officials, and experts to address the pressing environmental challenges facing the world’s seas.
In his remarks, King Abdullah described oceans as “a vital shared resource, sustaining billions of lives,” but warned that they are increasingly threatened by climate change, pollution, overexploitation, and biodiversity loss.
“This is a critical moment in time for action,” the king added, stressing the need for international collaboration to preserve marine ecosystems.
King Abdullah highlighted Jordan’s embrace of science as a tool for transformation, noting that the Gulf of Aqaba’s coral reefs show exceptional resilience to extreme temperatures. This unique feature, he said, positions Jordan as a global hub for marine research that could help save coral reefs worldwide.
To advance this vision, he announced the launch of two key initiatives: Aqaba Blue Ventures and the Global Center for Ocean Regeneration.
These projects will provide platforms to test new technologies that can be scaled up for global application, he added.
On the sidelines of the conference, King Abdullah held a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, during which he affirmed Jordan’s readiness to strengthen cooperation with France across various sectors, JNA reported.
The leaders stressed the importance of maintaining coordination on regional issues and called for immediate international efforts to reinstate a ceasefire in Gaza and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid.
The king warned of the dangerous consequences of continued escalation in the West Bank and Jerusalem, reiterating that granting Palestinians their full legitimate rights remained the only path to lasting regional stability.
He also commended France’s role in promoting peace in the Middle East, particularly through its upcoming international conference in New York from June 17-20, organized in partnership with Saudi Arabia.
The meeting was attended by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Jordan’s ambassador to France Lina Al-Hadid.
Also on Monday, King Abdullah held additional high-level meetings with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides, Prince Albert II of Monaco, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The talks were part of the king’s broader diplomatic efforts to mobilize international support for the rights of the Palestinian people.
During the discussions, King Abdullah again stressed that a two-state solution was the only viable route to regional peace and highlighted the importance of the forthcoming New York conference.
He also reiterated the need to restore the ceasefire in Gaza, guarantee unimpeded delivery of aid, and put an end to unilateral measures in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Israel ultra-Orthodox party threatens government over draft law
JERUSALEM: Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Shas party on Monday threatened to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government by backing a motion for early elections amid a row over military service.
Netanyahu’s coalition, one of the most right-wing in Israel’s history, is at risk of collapsing over a bill that could reverse the long-standing exemption from the draft for ultra-Orthodox Jews.
The exemption is facing growing pushback as Israel wages war on Palestinian Islamist militants Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu is under pressure from within his Likud party to draft more ultra-Orthodox men and impose penalties on draft dodgers — a red line for Shas.
The party is demanding legislation to permanently exempt its followers from military service and gave Netanyahu two days to find a solution.
“We don’t want to bring down a right-wing government, but we’ve reached our limit,” Shas spokesperson Asher Medina told public radio.
“If there’s no last-minute solution (on conscription), we’ll vote to dissolve the Knesset,” he said, referring to the Israeli parliament.
Last week, a Shas source told AFP the party was threatening to quit the coalition unless a solution was reached by Monday.
The opposition is seeking to place a bill to dissolve parliament on Wednesday’s plenary agenda, hoping to capitalize on the ultra-Orthodox revolt to topple the government.
Netanyahu’s coalition, formed in December 2022, includes Likud, far-right factions and ultra-Orthodox parties. A walkout by the latter would end its majority.
A poll published in March by right-wing daily Israel Hayom found 85 percent of Israeli Jews support changing the conscription law for Haredim.
Forty-one percent backed compulsory military service — currently 32 months for men — for all eligible members of the community.
British surgeon says only people she saw in Gaza with guns were Israeli troops
- Dr. Victoria Rose saw no evidence for claims that Hamas uses hospitals as bases
- Palestinian enclave’s population ‘on their knees’ with ‘a lot of avoidable deaths’
LONDON: A British surgeon who worked in Gaza has said she never saw anyone in the Palestinian enclave with weapons except Israeli soldiers.
Dr. Victoria Rose told Sky News that there had been a “real escalation in the bombing campaign” in Gaza that had left the population “on their knees.”
Hospitals, despite being protected under international law, have frequently been targeted by Israel since the war began in October 2023.
The Israel Defense Forces claim that hospitals are often used as bases by Hamas, but the National Health Service plastic surgeon said she had seen no evidence that this is the case.
Rose told the “Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips” program: “I’ve never treated or seen anyone — in any of the hospitals that I’ve worked in — in military uniform or with a weapon. The only people I’ve ever seen in Gaza with military uniforms and weapons are the IDF.”
She said the toll that the war is taking on medics in Gaza is catastrophic, adding: “Lots of my Palestinian colleagues were telling me that they’d rather die than carry on with this war.”
The public health situation in Gaza has been worsened by the ongoing food crisis in the enclave, with vital aid being blocked from entering by the Israeli military for several months.
Rose said malnutrition is a severe problem in Gaza, especially among children. When she was in the enclave, “infection rates were soaring,” she added.
“We were seeing a lot of avoidable deaths, a lot of small children dying from sepsis that would’ve been prevented if they’d been in in the Western world.”
Contractor in Syria uncovers a surprise beneath the rubble: an ancient tomb complex
MARAAT AL-NUMAN, Syria: A contractor digging into the earth where the rubble of a destroyed house had been cleared away in northern Syria stumbled across a surprise: the remains of an underground Byzantine tomb complex believed to be more than 1,500 years old.
The discovery emerged last month in the town of Maarat Al-Numan in Idlib province, which is strategically located on the route between the cities of Aleppo and Damascus. The community became a touchpoint in the nearly 14-year Syrian civil war that ended with the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December.
Assad’s forces seized the area back from opposition control in 2020. Houses were looted and demolished. Aerial images of the area show many houses still standing but without roofs.
Now residents are beginning to return and rebuild. In the course of a reconstruction project, stone openings were uncovered indicating the presence of ancient graves. Residents notified the directorate of antiquities, which dispatched a specialized team to inspect and secure the site.
Aboveground, it’s a residential neighborhood with rows of cinder-block buildings, many of them damaged in the war. Next to one of those buildings, a pit leads down to the openings of two burial chambers, each containing six stone tombs. The sign of the cross is etched into the top of one stone column.
“Based on the presence of the cross and the pottery and glass pieces that were found, this tomb dates back to the Byzantine era,” said Hassan Al-Ismail, director of antiquities in Idlib. He noted that the discovery adds to an already rich collection of archaeological sites in the area.
Idlib “has a third of the monuments of Syria, containing 800 archaeological sites in addition to an ancient city,” Al-Ismail said.
The Byzantine Empire, which began in the 4th century AD, was a continuation of the Roman empire with its capital in Constantinople — today’s Istanbul — and Christianity as its official religion.
Abandoned Byzantine-era settlements called Dead Cities stretch across rocky hills and plains in northwest Syria, their weathered limestone ruins featuring remnants of stone houses, basilicas, tombs and colonnaded streets.
In the past, the owners of sites where archaeological ruins were found sometimes covered them up, fearful that their property would be seized to preserve the ruins, said Ghiath Sheikh Diab, a resident of Maarat Al-Numan who witnessed the moment when the tomb complex was uncovered.
He said he hoped the new government will fairly compensate property owners in such cases and provide assistance to the displaced people who have returned to the area to find their homes destroyed.
The years of war led to significant damage to Syria’s archaeological sites, not only from bombing but from looting and unauthorized digging.
Some see in the ruins a sign of hope for economic renewal.
Another local resident, Abed Jaafar, came with his son to explore the newly discovered tombs and take pictures.
“In the old days, a lot of foreign tourists used to come to Maarat just to see the ruins,” he said. “We need to take care of the antiquities and restore them and return them to the way they were before … and this will help to bring back the tourism and the economy.”
