President Donald Trump's top aides staunchly defended his push to transfer Palestinians out of Gaza and have the US take over the war-ruined enclave, but they also backed away from elements of his proposal in the face of international condemnation.
A longtime New York property developer, Trump drew rebukes from world powers Russia, China and Germany, which said it would foster "new suffering and new hatred." Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia rejected the proposal outright.
Barely two weeks in the job, Trump shattered decades of US policy on Tuesday with a vaguely worded announcement saying he envisioned transforming Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East" where international communities could live in harmony after nearly 16 months of Israeli bombardment devastated the coastal enclave and killed more than 47,000 people, according to Palestinian tallies.
At a White House briefing on Wednesday, his press secretary Karoline Leavitt hailed his Gaza proposal as "historic" and "outside of the box" thinking but stressed that the president had not made a commitment to putting "boots on the ground" in the Palestinian enclave. She declined, however, to rule out potential use of US troops there.
At the same time, Leavitt walked back Trump's earlier assertion that Gazans needed to be permanently resettled in neighbouring countries, saying instead that they should be "temporarily relocated" for the rebuilding process.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said the idea was for Gazans to leave the territory for an "interim" period of reconstruction and debris-clearing.
It was unclear whether Trump would go ahead with his proposal or was simply taking an extreme position as a bargaining strategy, as he has done on other issues in the past.
Some experts said the proposed actions could violate international law. Others described his ideas as unworkable. Human rights advocates said it would amount to ethnic cleansing.
"Everybody loves it," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office earlier on Wednesday, referring to his Gaza idea.
Trump frequently asserted during the 2024 election campaign and since returning to office that he would end what he called "ridiculous" wars and prevent others from starting
On a trip to Guatemala, Rubio, apparently seeking to counter the wave of global criticism, insisted Trump's proposal was not a "hostile move" but a generous one that expressed "the willingness of the United States to become responsible for the reconstruction of that area."
In contrast, Leavitt said US taxpayers would not foot the bill and that Trump would strike a deal with regional partners.
Trump offered no specifics as he announced his proposal while welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Tuesday. He said he and his team had been discussing the possibility with Jordan, Egypt and other regional countries.
Netanyahu, who met on Wednesday with US Vice President JD Vance, would not be drawn into discussing the proposal, other than to praise Trump for trying a new approach.
Jordan's King Abdullah said he rejected any moves to annex land and displace Palestinians. Egypt said it would back Gaza recovery plans, following a ceasefire that took effect on January 19, without Palestinians leaving the territory.
In Gaza, Palestinians living among the wreckage of their former homes said they would never accept the idea.
"Trump can go to hell, with his ideas, with his money, and with his beliefs. We are going nowhere. We are not some of his assets," said Samir Abu Basel, a father of five in Gaza City displaced by the war.
World leaders said they remained supportive of the two-state solution that has formed the basis of US policy in the region for decades, which has held that Gaza would be part of a future Palestinian state that includes the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
US national security adviser Mike Waltz played down any notion the US was walking away from longstanding Middle East policy. "I certainly didn't hear the president say it was the end of the two-state solution," he told CBS News.
An official from Palestinian militant group Hamas, which ruled the Gaza Strip before the war that followed Hamas' deadly October 7, 2023, cross-border attack on Israel, said Trump's proposal was "ridiculous and absurd."
"Any ideas of this kind are capable of igniting the region," Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters, saying Hamas remains committed to the ceasefire accord with Israel and negotiating its next phase.
During a UN committee meeting, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Trump to avoid ethnic cleansing.
"In the search for solutions, we must not make the problem worse. It is vital to stay true to the bedrock of international law. It is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing," he said.
with AP and DPA
