US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump only meant the temporary departure of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip until the devastated territory is rebuilt.
Trump sparked strong reactions around the world when he suggested on Tuesday, during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the US could take over the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Trump's proposal for the US to take "ownership" of the Gaza Strip and transform the area into the "Riviera of the Middle East" is a "generous" offer, Rubio said.
"It was not intended as a hostile move. I think it was a very generous move," said the US Secretary of State.
He said that the Palestinian territory is "similar to a natural disaster" and that people cannot live there because there is unexploded ammunition, debris and rubble.
Trump offered "a willingness (of the US) to intervene, to clear the rubble, to clear the site of all the destruction on the ground, to clear it of all that unexploded ordnance," Rubio said.
"In the meantime, the people who live there won't be able to live there while you have crews coming in and removing the debris," he said.
Trump wants to support "the rebuilding of homes and businesses and things of that nature, so people can then come back," he said.
White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said Trump had not committed to sending US troops to the Gaza Strip as part of the proposal to take over the Palestinian enclave.
Levitt told reporters that Trump believes the US needs to be involved in rebuilding the Gaza Strip "to ensure stability in the region."
"That doesn't mean troops on the ground in Gaza," she said.
Levitt also said that Trump wants Palestinians living in Gaza to be "temporarily relocated" so that the territory can be rebuilt.
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