Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Trump's plan for the Gaza Strip is an idea that "can change history."
"We are talking about the issue, he [Trump] is studying it with his people, his team," explained the Israeli prime minister, quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"I think it's something that can change history. And it's worth trying," he added.
At the end of his meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump said he wants the United States to take control of the Gaza Strip and rebuild the territory after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere.
Trump did not rule out the possibility of sending American troops to support the reconstruction of Gaza and considered that US participation would be "long-term."
The Israeli prime minister also said that a deal to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel "will happen." The position was also expressed by Trump: "I believe that peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia is not only feasible, I believe it will happen," he said.
Earlier in the meeting, the US president had already suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be "permanently" resettled outside the war-torn territory.
"I don't think people should go back," Trump said, as quoted by the Associated Press (AP). "You can't live in Gaza right now. I think we need another place. I think it should be a place that makes people happy," he added.
Asked how many Palestinians should be resettled, Trump replied: "All of them. Probably 1.7 million, maybe 1.8 million. But I think all of them. They would be resettled in a place where they can have a beautiful life," he said, as quoted by EFE.
US President Trump also described the Gaza Strip as a "demolition site" and said that after looking "from every angle" at photographs of the enclave after the war with Israel, he came to the conclusion that "that place is hell, it is very dangerous and no one can live there".
This first visit by a foreign leader in Trump's second term comes at a time when support for Benjamin Netanyahu is waning in Israel. The Israeli prime minister faces pressure from his right-wing coalition to end the temporary truce in Gaza and from war-weary Israelis who want the remaining hostages to return home and the 15-month conflict to end.
