President Donald Trump did not rule out sending American troops to help secure Gaza after saying the US would take ownership of the Palestinian enclave, APA reports citing CNN.
“As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that. We’re going to take over that piece that we’re going to develop it,” Trump said when questioned whether he was willing to send US troops to fill a security vacuum in Gaza.
Trump said his plan of taking over Gaza would “create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it’ll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of.”
Trump’s willingness to dispatch troops to the Middle East is a stark development for a president who ran on a pledge to keep American troops from engaging in war overseas.
In his remarks at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump framed his proposal as a way to end decades of cyclical violence in the region.
“The killing starts and all of the other problems start, and you end up in the same place. And we don’t want to see that happen,” he said, adding later: “I think we’ll be a great keeper of something that is very, very strong, very powerful and very, very good for the area, not just for Israel, for the entire Middle East.”
