Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu poses with President Donald Trump at the White House, Feb. 4, 2025. (Getty Images)

(JTA) — President Donald Trump doubled down on his controversial efforts to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, telling reporters that he would hope to resettle most if not all in neighboring countries, perhaps permanently.

Trump made the comments at the start of a White House meeting on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump was less equivocal in his statements on other issues — including the future of the current Israel-Hamas ceasefire, normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia and his plans to counter Iran.

Netanyahu did not comment on the relocation plans. In response to questions about the ceasefire, whose second stage is now being negotiated, he repeated his vow to achieve the goals his government has set out in the war that began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Those include both releasing the hostages held by Hamas, and dismantling the terror group. The ceasefire’s second stage may place those goals in tension, as it is meant to include the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Here’s some of what Trump and Netanyahu said in their first meeting since Trump returned to office.

Trump on relocating Palestinians from Gaza:

Since his inauguration last month, Trump has pushed Egypt and Jordan, which have peace treaties with Israel, to resettle Palestinians from Gaza on their territory. Both countries’ leaders have rebuffed the requests, but Trump expressed confidence that they would accede to his demand. He said people have “no alternative” but to leave the enclave, which he compared to “hell.”

• “They say they’re not going to accept. I say they will… I think that Gaza, maybe, is a demolition site right now. If you at Gaza, there’s hardly a building standing and the ones that are are going to collapse. You can’t live in Gaza right now, and I think we need another location. And I think it should be a location that’s going to make people happy.”
• “You look over the decades, it’s all death in Gaza. This has been happening for years, it’s all death. If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people permanently in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot, and not be killed, and not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza… The whole thing is a mess.”
• When asked how many Gazans he hopes to resettle: “All of them. We’re talking about probably a million-seven people, a million-seven, maybe a million-eight. But I think all of them can be resettled in areas where they can build a beautiful life and not worry about dying every day.”

Trump was also asked about whether he supports building “Jewish settlements” in Gaza, and later “Israeli settlements.” Far-right Israeli leaders, and s segment of the population, support building Israeli settlements in Gaza, which were evacuated nearly 20 years ago. It was unclear whether Trump understood the question. He responded, “I don’t see it happening. It’s too dangerous for people. Nobody can go there.”

Trump on a Saudi-Israel normalization deal

Trump and Netanyahu have both expressed a desire for a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which would build on the Trump-brokered agreements between Israel and four Arab countries. Speaking about the chances for a deal, Trump was noncommittal.

• “We’re going to see, and we’re dealing with a lot of people, and we have steps to go yet, as you know. Maybe those steps go forward, and maybe they don’t. We’re dealing with a very complex group of people — situation and people. But we have the right man, we have the right leader of Israel, he’s done a great job and we’ve been friends for a long time… I think we have a combination that’s very unbeatable, actually.”

He was also asked whether Saudi leaders were demanding a Palestinian state in exchange for a deal with Israel, as has been widely reported. He said they weren’t.

• “Everybody’s demanding one thing, you know what it is? Peace. … We want people to stop being killed. Everybody’s demanding one thing, very simple: Peace.”

Netanyahu and Trump on the future of the ceasefire

The current Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect one day before Trump entered office, and his negotiating team was reportedly key to making it happen. Netanyahu punted on whether Trump or former President Biden deserved more credit for the deal — though he praised Trump. And both refrained from elaborating on whether, or how long, the ceasefire will hold.

• Netanyahu: I support getting all the hostages out and meeting all our war goals. That includes destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, and making sure that Gaza never poses a threat to Israel again…. Three goals. Not one, not two, three goals, and I will meet all three goals, and I think the president can help enormously.
• Trump: “We’re going to get this thing wrapped up. We’re going to get it done… We’re faced with a very complex and difficult situation but we’ll solve, we’ll solve the problem.”

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