Donald Trump hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Gaza talks

Donald Trump made a huge claim about Palestinians and their embattled homeland of Gaza as he hosts Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

Donald Trump said Palestinians would “love” to leave their embattled homeland in Gaza and live elsewhere if given an option.

They would “love to leave Gaza,” he told reporters as he signed a raft of initiatives at the White House.
“I would think that they would be thrilled.”
“I don’t know how they could want to stay. It’s a demolition site,” he said, more than 15 months after US ally Israel launched a punishing invasion of the territory in retaliation for attacks launched by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

A senior Hamas official slammed the remarks.

“We consider it a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region. Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass,” said Sami Abu Zuhri in a statement.

“What is required is an end to the occupation and aggression against our people, not their expulsion from their land.”

US President Donald Trump meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

Fellow senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq also criticised Trump for his latest comments.

“Our people in Gaza have thwarted displacement and deportation plans under bombardment for more than 15 months,” Rishq said in a separate statement.

“They are rooted in their land and will not accept any schemes aimed at uprooting them from their homeland.”

The comments cams as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House for talks with the US president on his country’s truce with Hamas, amid hopes that it could lead to a more permanent end to the war.

Mr Trump, who has claimed credit for securing the pause in hostilities in Gaza, said ahead of the meeting he was likely to urge his ally to stick to the deal – parts of which have yet to be finalised.

US President Donald Trump greets Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the North Portico of the White House in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

Following the meeting, the duo are expected to host a joint press conference before going out to dinner together with their wives.

In a possible sign of progress, Israel said hours ahead of the White House meeting that it was sending a team to mediator Qatar to discuss the second phase of the agreement, which could lead to a more permanent end to the war.

Palestinian group Hamas said on Tuesday that negotiations for the second phase had begun, with spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou saying the focus was on “shelter, relief and reconstruction” for the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

Mr Trump has claimed credit for securing the pause in hostilities in Gaza. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump has touted a plan to “clean out” Gaza, calling for Palestinians to move to Egypt or Jordan.

Both countries have flatly rejected his proposal, as have the territory’s own residents.

In line with the ceasefire, Palestinian militant groups and Israel have begun exchanging hostages held in Gaza for prisoners in Israeli custody.

The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, taking into Gaza 251 hostages, dozens of whom have since been confirmed dead.

The duo are expected to host a joint press conference before going out to dinner with their wives. Picture: AFP

Seventy-six are still held in the Palestinian territory including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Families of the Israeli hostages have been urging all sides to ensure the agreement is maintained so their loved ones can be freed.

Before leaving for Washington, Mr Netanyahu said Israel’s wars with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and its confrontations with Iran since October 2023 had “redrawn the map” of the Middle East.

“I believe that working closely with President Trump we can redraw it even further, and for the better,” he said.

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz speak to reporters outside the White House as they await the meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump, who prides himself on his deal making abilities, may seek to offer Netanyahu incentives to sticking to the truce, such as a normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia.

Efforts under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden for normalisation froze with the Gaza war, and Saudi Arabia has in recent months hardened its position insisting there would be no agreement without a Palestinian state.

Mr Trump said Sunday that talks with Israel and other Middle Eastern countries were “progressing” – before warning that he had “no assurances” and “no guarantees” that the truce in Gaza would hold.

The US president’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who met Mr Netanyahu on Monday over terms for the second phase of the truce, said that he was “certainly hopeful”.

– with Agence France-Presse (AFP)

Originally published as Donald Trump hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Gaza talks