Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed strong support for former US President Donald Trump’s controversial plan to facilitate the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, stating that Israel is prepared to take responsibility for its execution.
In an interview with Fox News on Saturday, Netanyahu described Trump’s proposal as a breakthrough approach to addressing Gaza’s future, dismissing criticisms that it could lead to forced displacement.
“I think that President Trump’s proposal is the first fresh idea in years, and it has the potential to change everything in Gaza,” Netanyahu said, arguing that it offers a viable path forward for the war-torn territory.
According to Netanyahu, Trump’s plan does not involve American military intervention. Instead, Israel is willing to handle the process.
“All Trump is saying, ‘I want to open the gate and give them an option to relocate temporarily while we rebuild the place physically,’” he explained. “Trump never said he wants American troops to do the job. Guess what? We’ll do the job.”
Israel captured Gaza during the 1967 war and maintained a military presence there until 2005, when it withdrew settlers and troops.
However, following Hamas’ takeover of the enclave, Israel imposed a strict blockade, which intensified after the October 2023 war between Israel and Hamas.
The ongoing conflict, triggered by Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel in 2023, has been one of the most violent and destructive confrontations in recent history.
Netanyahu argued that Trump’s proposal represents a shift from failed past strategies, which, in his view, only allowed terrorist groups to re-establish control in Gaza.
“The same old, same old, same old — we leave, Gaza becomes again occupied by these terrorists who use it as a base to attack Israel… It doesn’t go anywhere. I think we should pursue it,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that one major challenge remains: finding a country willing to accept displaced Gazans.
For many Palestinians, any large-scale relocation out of Gaza is reminiscent of the 1948 Nakba (or “catastrophe”), during which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced following the creation of Israel.
Netanyahu, however, dismissed concerns about forced expulsion, claiming that the goal is to offer Gazans a way out of what has often been described as an “open-air prison.”
“Everybody describes Gaza as the biggest open-air prison in the world,” he said. “Get the population out, allow them to leave. Not forcible eviction, not ethnic cleansing — getting people out of what all these countries and all these do-gooders say is an open-air prison. Why are you keeping them in prison?”
The Israeli leader also stated that any Palestinians who wished to return to Gaza in the future would have to “disavow terrorism.”
Trump’s plan has been widely criticized across the Middle East and beyond, with many viewing it as a potential violation of international law.
However, Netanyahu remains firm in his belief that it could provide a long-term solution to the Gaza conflict.
