Trump’s ‘clean out’ Gaza proposal stuns all sides, scrambles Middle East diplomacy

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump’s Saturday night proposal that Palestinians vacate a devastated Gaza marked a sharp break with his predecessor and introduced a contentious new initiative into his unfolding Middle East diplomatic plans. Trump said the resettling of the Palestinians from Gaza “could be temporary or long term." His statement could mark a dramatic shift in U.S.

policy toward Palestinians under presidents of both parties. No recent White House has suggested the “long-term" departure of Palestinians from Gaza, which most U.S. presidents have seen as a part of an eventual Palestinian state.

“It’s literally a demolition site right now," he said. “So, I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change." But on Sunday Trump officials suggested the U.S. and regional partners could provide guarantees the Palestinians would eventually be allowed to return, sketching out an assurance that appeared designed to make the idea more politically palatable to Arab states.

Officials have yet to spell out the precise parameters of the suggestion, including how the more than two million Palestinians in the enclave could be relocated and whether they might eventually fulfill their aspirations to fully govern their own territory. “You’re talking about a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing," Trump said. “You know over the centuries it’s had many, many conflicts.