US president Donald Trump said the US will “take over” Gaza, and “do a good job” in developing the region while putting an end to the Isreali-Palestine tussle over the area.
Trump stated this in a joint news conference with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House
The president says the US could “do a real job” by removing unexploded bombs and economically redeveloping the territory into “the Riviera of the Middle East”
He also proposed that Palestinians should be resettled outside of Gaza while it was rebuilt, though countries throughout the Middle East have previously rejected this proposal.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it to own it and be responsible for dismantling the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, and create economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” Trump said.
Isreali Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit in the US president’s second term, said Trump’s plan was an idea “worth paying attention to”
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has told Fox News that Trump’s Gaza takeover proposal will give Palestinians “more hope” for a better future—one that is potentially away from Gaza.
Speaking to host Sean Hannity, Witkoff stated that Gaza would be “inhabitable” for at least the next decade, adding, “Everybody wants to see peace in the region… [which] means a better life for the Palestinians. A better life is not necessarily tied to the physical space that you’re in today. A better life is about better opportunity, better financial conditions, and better aspirations for you and your family.
“That doesn’t occur because you get to pitch a tent in the Gaza Strip, and you’re surrounded by 30,000 munitions that could go off at any moment. It’s a dangerous place to live today.”
However, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri has described Donald Trump’s remarks about taking over the Gaza Strip as “ridiculous” and “absurd.”.
“Trump’s remarks about his desire to control Gaza are ridiculous and absurd, and any ideas of this kind are capable of igniting the region,” said Abu Zhuri, according to Reuters.
The president’s takeover plan comes at a critical juncture, with negotiations on a second stage of the Gaza ceasefire process in their early stages.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")