White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Donald Trump isn’t committing to deploying U.S. troops to Gaza after suggesting on Tuesday that the U.S. would ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip.
‘It’s been made very clear to the president that the United States needs to be involved in this rebuilding effort, to ensure stability in the region for all people,’ Leavitt told reporters Wednesday at a White House press briefing. ‘But that does not mean boots on the ground in Gaza. It does not mean American taxpayers will be funding this effort. It means Donald Trump, who is the best dealmaker on the planet, is going to strike a deal with our partners in the region.’
Leavitt said that Trump is an ‘outside-of-the-box thinker’ who is ‘a visionary leader who solves problems that many others, especially in this city, claim are unsolvable.’
Trump announced Tuesday that the U.S. would ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip in a ‘long-term ownership position’ to deliver stability to the region.
‘The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,’ Trump said Tuesday evening in a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ‘We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.’
‘Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,’ he said. ‘Do a real job. Do something different. Just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years.’
Trump said that ‘all’ Palestinians would be removed from Gaza under his plan. But Leavitt described their removal as ‘temporary’ during the rebuilding process and said that Trump and his team were sorting out specific details with allies in the region regarding next steps.
‘Again, it’s a demolition site right now,’ she said. ‘It’s not a livable place for any human being. And I think it’s actually quite evil to suggest that people should live in such dire conditions.’
But the proposal for the U.S. to take over Gaza has sparked massive backlash, including from the Palestinian, Iran-backed militant group Hamas, designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization.
‘What President Trump stated about his intention to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip outside it and the United States’ control over the Strip by force is a crime against humanity,’ a senior Hamas official told Fox News on Wednesday.
Trump’s statements also left Democratic lawmakers in shock.
‘I’m speechless, that’s insane,’ Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told Jewish Insider. ‘I can’t think of a place on Earth that would welcome American troops less and where any positive outcome is less likely.’
Some Republicans also voiced caution, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Jewish Insider that the proposal ‘might be problematic,’ but that he would ‘keep an open mind.’
‘We’ll see what our Arab friends say about that,’ he said. ‘I think most South Carolinians would not be excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza.’
Meanwhile, Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., didn’t appear fazed by the remarks.
‘I think he wants to bring a more peaceful, secure Middle East and put some ideas out there,’ Thune told reporters on Wednesday.
Fox News’ Emma Colton and Greg Norman contributed to this report.