United States President Donald Trump has welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House, marking the first visit of a foreign leader during his second term.
But Tuesday’s meeting was steeped in controversy as Trump repeatedly weighed in on the future of war-torn Gaza — and whether Palestinians should return to live in the enclave.
“Gaza is a guarantee that they’re going to end up dying. The same thing is going to happen again,” Trump said. “It’s happened over and over again. And it’s going to happen again.”
“So I hope we can do something where they wouldn’t want to go back. Who would want to go back? They’ve experienced nothing but death and destruction.”
Trump also suggested that the US aims to “take over” a depopulated Gaza, shaping its landscape for years to come.
“ I do see a long-term ownership position, and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East,” Trump said.
“This was not a decision made lightly. Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs.”
A fragile ceasefire recently paused hostilities in Gaza where, for the past 15 months, Israel has led a devastating military campaign that has killed an estimated 61,700 Palestinians.
United Nations experts and human rights advocates have compared the military campaign with a genocide. But the US remains a firm ally of Israel – and of Netanyahu’s government.
In remarks after his bilateral meeting with Netanyahu, Trump returned to a vision he had outlined earlier in the day, in which Palestinians would be settled “permanently” in “a beautiful area” outside of Gaza.
Such comments have spurred fears that Trump would support the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, and nearby countries like Egypt and Jordan have repeatedly rejected the prospect of absorbing Gaza’s population.
“I think Jordan and Egypt – they say they’re not going to accept, but I say they will. But I think other countries will accept also,” Trump said.
A close ally
Tuesday’s bilateral meeting was set against a period of regional turmoil in the Middle East.
Recent ceasefires have slowed hostilities in Lebanon and Gaza. A new government has risen in Syria. And there are growing tensions between Iran and Israel.
Before arriving in the US on Sunday, Netanyahu underscored the symbolism of being the first foreign head of state to visit Trump since the president’s second inauguration on January 20.
“I think it’s a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
The two countries indicated that a range of topics would be on the table for discussion, including the ceasefire agreements, the future of Gaza and efforts to normalise relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
In the lead-up to Tuesday’s meeting, Trump also signed a series of executive orders and directives, some of which pertained to goals he shares with Netanyahu.
One announced the return of his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. Another saw the US withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council and UNRWA, the relief agency for Palestinian refugees.
Netanyahu’s government has accused UNRWA of involvement in the attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, without offering proof to substantiate the claim.
The Israeli leader’s visit was greeted by protesters calling for a “free, free, free Palestine”.
Some activists denounced his invitation to the White House as an honour bestowed on a “war criminal”: In November, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Still, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to Netanyahu at Tuesday’s news conference.
“The bonds of friendship and affection between the American and Israeli people have endured for generations, and they are absolutely unbreakable,” Trump said.
Netanyahu responded with praise of his own: “You are the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.”
Ceasefire in Gaza
The tenuous ceasefire in Gaza was a central part of the two leaders’ latest meeting.
Trump has repeatedly taken credit for the ceasefire deal, which came into effect on January 19, the day before he took office. He blamed the foreign policy of his predecessor Joe Biden for allowing the war in Gaza to begin in the first place.
“Nobody did anything for four years except in the negative,” Trump said at one point, referring to Biden’s term in office. “Unfortunately, the weakness and incompetence of those past four years [caused] the grave damage around the globe.”
Still, Trump has cast doubt on the strength of the ceasefire and whether it would last.
“The strikes could start tomorrow,” Trump said on Tuesday. “There’s not a lot left to strike.”
The initial 42-day truce, which will see the release of 33 Israeli captives and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, expires on March 1.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Palestinian group Hamas said that negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire have begun. If agreed to, that phase would see the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the freeing of all captives.
But Trump lashed out at the group in his remarks, praising Israel’s efforts to cut off resources to Gaza.
“We starved Hamas and Iran’s other terrorist proxies, and we starved them like they had never seen before. Resources and support disappeared for them,” Trump said.
US to ‘take over’ Gaza?
The president also renewed his call for a mass displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, despite human rights experts warning that it would amount to ethnic cleansing.
“ It’s been an unlucky place for a long time,” Trump said of Gaza. “ And it should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have really stood there and fought for it and lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there.”
He added that Palestinians would “love to leave” if given an alternative.
“They should get a good, fresh, beautiful piece of land, and we [can] get some people to put up the money to build it and make it nice and make it habitable and enjoyable,” Trump explained.
He stopped short of committing US resources to any such construction effort, saying a new home for Palestinians could be ”paid for by neighbouring countries of great wealth”.
He did, however, propose that the US would assert a presence in Gaza in the future.
“ The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site. Level the site,” Trump said.
“Level it out and create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
Earlier in the day, he had said he would not necessarily support Israel taking Gaza itself: “Not necessarily, no. I just support cleaning it up and doing something with it.”
The US has backed the Israeli offensive in Gaza, providing billions in military aid.
A hardline approach to Iran
Another pillar of Tuesday’s meeting was how to approach Iran, which Netanyahu has portrayed as Israel’s greatest threat.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu chuckled as he recalled how Trump during his first term decided to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement that would have seen Iran limit its nuclear programme in favour of loosened sanctions.
Iran responded in the years since by escalating its nuclear programme.
“ You withdrew from the disastrous Iran nuclear deal. I remember we spoke about it. You said, ‘This is the worst deal I’ve ever seen,’” Netanyahu said. “ I think it speaks loudly for just common sense.”
For his part, Trump played up his decision to return to the “maximum pressure” strategy he pursued during his first term.
“ We will once again enforce the most aggressive possible sanctions, drive Iranian oil exports to zero and diminish the regime’s capacity to fund terror throughout the region and throughout the world,” he said.
US officials have argued that Iran and its allies like Hezbollah and Hamas have been “weakened” by the regional violence that broke out over the last year.
Hezbollah has been dealt heavy blows after the Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon. Hamas has lost its top military and political leaders. And the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has collapsed.
Critics have warned, however, that Netanyahu may exploit this moment to seek US assistance in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), urged Trump to stand up against any Israeli attempt to launch an offensive targeting Iran.
“We hope that President Trump will not be dragged and fooled by this war criminal, Benjamin Netanyahu, to launch a war on Iran and destabilise the region further,” Awad told reporters.
“President Trump has a golden opportunity to put an end to the suffering of the people in the region and hold the Israeli leaders accountable instead of celebrating them.”
Trump did leave the door open for diplomacy, saying that he is “unhappy” to apply renewed sanctions on Iran. He added that his only red line is that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
“ I hated to do it, just so you understand. And I hope we’re going to be able to do something so that it doesn’t end up in a very catastrophic situation. I don’t want to see that happen,” Trump said.
The US president has not ruled out speaking to Iranian officials.