The UK government has distanced itself from Donald Trump’s suggestion Palestinians could be relocated and Gaza developed into a “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Speaking to Sky News’ Kay Burley, Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the UK’s position is that Palestinians “need to be able to return to their homes and then start to rebuild them”.
He added that a “lasting peace can only be based on a two-state solution” with a “secure Israel” and “a free and viable Palestinian state”.
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But he did not criticise Mr Trump for his remarks, saying that he would “not provide a running commentary on the pronouncements of the president”.
Asked if he was being disparaging, Mr Reed replied “not at all”, adding that Mr Trump should be given “credit for the role he played in securing the ceasefire in the first place”.
Mr Trump laid out his plans for the Middle East in a news conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
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The US president called Gaza a “demolition site” and said the two million people who live there could go to “various domains”.
He did not rule out sending US troops to the region, and said the US would “develop” Gaza and create “thousands and thousands of jobs”.
Mr Trump suggested that Palestinians could be relocated to Egypt and Jordan. Both countries, other Arab nations and Palestinian leader have all opposed this move.
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Saudi Arabia quickly released a statement rejecting any attempt to move Palestinians out of Gaza.
Mr Trump said: “Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs.”
It would be the “Riviera of the Middle East”, he added.
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Tobias Ellwood, a former Conservative MP and now a defence analyst, told Sky News that “even by Trump’s standards this has been quite a baffling idea”.
He said it has “taken everybody by surprise, including many in Washington”.
Mr Ellwood says the plans would be in breach of the Geneva Conventions and Oslo Accords, and “kills off any prospect of a two-state solution”.
The former soldier claimed it would require “a minimum of 50,000 US troops” to be stationed in the Middle East for years – at odds with Hamas – for the plan to be enacted.
Displacing Gazans would also push Arab states “ever closer to China”, he said.
