Key points
- I am planning to make Trump’s Gaza plan a reality: Netanyahu
- Forced removal of people from Gaza is tantamount to ethnic cleansing: UN
- Tehran is behind every act of violence: Rubio
ISLAMABAD: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is planning to make US President Donald Trump’s plan to displace and resettle Gaza’s population “a reality”.
According to CNN, Netanyahu said he was cooperating with the US on a “common strategy” for the Palestinian territory after meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem on Sunday.
The talks happened after US President Donald Trump proposed a US takeover of Gaza and the removal of the two million Palestinians there to neighbouring countries.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too.” –President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/aCqLl9Gwwn
— President Donald J. Trump (@POTUS) February 5, 2025
However, the United Nations has warned that any forced removal of civilians from occupied territory is strongly prohibited under international law and “tantamount to ethnic cleansing”.
America’s top diplomat said President Trump’s plan may have “shocked and surprised” people, however, it took “courage” to propose an alternative to “tired ideas” of the past.
Implementing Trump’s plan
Netanyahu said he and Rubio had discussed ways to practically implement Trump’s vision, adding that the US and Israel shared a common position on Gaza, according to BBC.
The Israeli leader warned that the “gates of hell” would be opened in case all Israeli hostages held by Hamas were not released.
“Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force,” Rubio added. “And as long as it stands as a force that can govern or administer or a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible.”
The Israeli military started a brutal campaign to eradicate Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken as hostages.
The fighting has led to devastation in Gaza, where more than 48,200 people have been killed by Israel forces backed by the West during the 16-month invasion, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Sheer destruction
Most of Gaza’s population has also been displaced several times, around 70 per cent of buildings are estimated to be annihilated or destroyed, the healthcare, water, sanitation, and hygiene systems have collapsed, and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine, and shelter, according to Al Jazeera.
However, Palestinian and Arab leaders have rejected Trump’s Gaza takeover plan, with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas emphasising that Palestinian land is “not for sale”.
The US top diplomat, unlike previous US peace efforts in the region, did not meet any Palestinian leaders to discuss the future of Gaza.
Speaking at a joint news conference on Sunday, Rubio and Netanyahu dsicsussed areas of agreement, including a desire to end Hamas’s governing capacity in the enclave, prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, and monitor developments in post-Assad Syria.
Accusing Tehran
Rubio also accused Tehran of being “behind every act of violence, behind every destabilising activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability” in the region, according to CNN.
Netanyahu also condemned what he called “lawfare” from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which he said “outrageously libelled” Israel.
He was thankful to the US administration for issuing sanctions against the ICC, which last year issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his former defence minister over alleged war crimes in Gaza – which Israel denies.
Moreover, Rubio is visiting Israel on his first tour of the Middle East as the US secretary of state.
He is also due to meet Russian officials in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to discuss the war in Ukraine—a meeting to which neither Ukraine nor other European countries have been invited.
American heavy bombs
His visit comes after a shipment of American-made heavy bombs reached Israel overnight.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said his country had received a delivery of MK-84 bombs from the US late on Saturday after Trump reversed a block on exporting the munitions placed by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Initially, Biden shipped thousands of MK-84s to Israel after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack however later refused to clear the bombs for export out of concern for their impact on Gaza.
The powerful 2,000-pound bombs have a wide blast radius and can rip through concrete and metal, destroying whole buildings.
Katz said the shipment represented a “significant asset” for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and served as evidence of the “strong alliance between Israel and the United States”.
Israeli air strike
On the other hand, Hamas said an Israeli air strike had killed three police officers close to Rafah in southern Gaza on Sunday, which it called a “serious violation” of the ceasefire.
Israel said it had struck “several armed individuals” in southern Gaza.
Moreover, the ceasefire came into force on 19 January and needs a complete halt in fighting for the first 42-day phase.
Fears had been high this week that the fragile ceasefire agreement could collapse after a dispute over a planned hostage release, which was almost aborted but ultimately went ahead on Saturday, according to CNN.
Netanyahu’s office confirmed on Sunday that an Israeli negotiating team would travel to Cairo on Monday to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire.
