US President Donald Trump proposed a plan to resolve the decades-long West Asia crisis that involved the US taking over the Gaza Strip and the Palestinians who currently live here or are displaced moving to shelters in adjoining countries of Egypt and Jordan. 
&ldquo;I strongly believe that the Gaza Strip, which has been a symbol of death and destruction for so many decades, and so bad for the people anywhere near it, and especially those who live there, and frankly, who's been very unlucky. It's been very unlucky. It's been an unlucky place for a long time,&rdquo; Trump said at a news conference with Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, who is the American president&rsquo;s first foreign visitor. 
&ldquo;We should go to other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts, and there are many of them that want to do this and build various domains that will ultimately be occupied by the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza, ending the death and destruction and frankly, bad luck,&rdquo; the president said, adding &ldquo;This could be paid for by neighbouring countries of great wealth.&rdquo; 
&ldquo;The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. 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.&rdquo; 
&ldquo;Do a real job, do something different,&rdquo; the American president said acknowledging the newness of his plan, &ldquo;Just can't go back. If you go back, it's going to end up the same way it has for 100 years.&rdquo; 
&ldquo;I'm hopeful that this cease-fire could be the beginning of the larger and more enduring peace that will end the bloodshed and killing once and for all. With the same goal in mind, my administration has been moving quickly to restore trust in the alliance and rebuild American strength throughout the region, and we've really done that. We're a respected nation. 
Again, a lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. We are actually a very respected nation. Again, I ended the last administration's de facto arms embargo on over $1 billion in military assistance for Israel. 
And I'm also pleased to announce that this afternoon, the United States withdrew from the antisemitic UN Human Rights Council, and ended all of the support for the UN Relief and Works Agency which funneled money to Hamas and which was very disloyal to humanity," said Trump. 
"Today, I also took action to restore a maximum pressure policy on the Iranian regime, and we will once again enforce the most aggressive possible sanctions to drive Iranian oil exports to zero and diminish the regime's capacity to fund terror throughout the region and throughout the world,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;
&mdash;IANS

Trump, Netanyahu at press conference discussing Gaza

US to manage Gaza, Trump outlines new strategy

Trump Proposes US Takeover of Gaza for Peace

US to manage Gaza, Trump outlines new strategy

February 5, 2025 | 09:58 IST