President Donald Trump doubled down on his pitch for the U.S. to takeover Gaza and said Palestinians would not have the right to move back.
The 78-year-old president was asked about his stunning call for the U.S. to control Gaza during his flight to the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Questions had mounted after his administration scrambled to clarify his suggestion last week.
‘I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza,’ Trump said on Air Force One.
But the president suggested as far as rebuilding, the U.S. could give sections to ‘other states in the Middle East’ to develop.
In a separate interview with Fox News, taped before the Super Bowl, Trump suggested the communities would be build ‘a little bit away from where they are where all of this danger is.’
‘Think of it as a real estate development for the future,’ he said. ‘It would be a beautiful piece of land,’ Trump told anchor Bret Baier.
But when Baier asked if Palestinians would have the right to return, Trump told him ‘no they wouldn’t because they’re going to have much better housing.’
He claimed he was talking about ‘building a permanent place for them’ but if they returned now, the area is not habitable.
Speaking on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump once again called the strip a demolition site and declared what does remain will be demolished.
‘We’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back,’ he said.
‘We’ll make it into a very good site for future development by somebody,’ the president added.
