U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday backed U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, arguing that a better life is not necessarily tied to a given piece of land.
In an interview with Fox News, Witkoff emphasized that peace means improving financial conditions and opportunities.
“Peace in the region means a better life for the Palestinians. A better life is not necessarily tied to the physical space that you are in today,” he said.
“A better life is about better opportunity, better financial conditions, 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,” Witkoff continued.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday alongside U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz before Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Witkoff stressed that the damage he witnessed in Gaza had convinced him it is currently too dangerous to inhabit.
“There are 30,000 unexploded munitions. It’s buildings that could tip over at any moment. There’s no utilities there whatsoever—no working water, electric, gas. Nothing. God knows what kind of disease might be festering there,” he said.
Defending Trump’s vision, Witkoff stated in the Fox News interview that the president wants to offer Palestinians hope and alternatives, and criticized past approaches to the conflict.
“He’s telling the Middle East that the last 50 years of doing things was not the correct way of doing things, and he’s going to change it up,” said Witkoff.
He described Gaza as uninhabitable for the next decade or more and highlighted Trump’s commitment to transparency with the Palestinian people.
In the White House presser, Witkoff said: “So when the president talks about cleaning it out, he talks about making it habitable. And this is a long-range plan.”
“They’ve dug tunnels underneath there that have basically degraded the stone that would form foundations. We have to examine that, and you do it with borings. You do it with subterranean surveys,” he said.
The plan would take “years on top of years,” he stressed, with the disposal effort alone requiring an estimated three to five years.
“The president is intent on getting it all done correctly, so for me it is unfair to explain to Palestinians that they might be back in five years. That’s just preposterous.”
Witkoff also announced on Tuesday plans to meet with Qatar’s prime minister on Thursday to discuss ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations.
Published on Wed, 05 Feb 2025 04:18:23 -0500. Original article link
