Israeli officials praise Trump's plan of taking over Gaza, resettling Palestinians

Trump said during a press conference in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Tuesday that the US “will take over” Gaza after relocating Palestinians elsewhere under an extraordinary redevelopment plan that he claimed could turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

Speaker of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) Amir Ohana called Trump’s plan "the dawn of a new day.”

"This is what happens when two brave leaders meet," said Transportation Minister Miri Regev.

Benny Gantz, head of the opposition National Unity Party, said Trump’s remarks are "further proof of the deep alliance between the United States and Israel."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Trump's proposal needs to be studied and understood.

Far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, a former national security minister who recently resigned from the government in opposition to a recent Gaza ceasefire deal, said he may return to government in the wake of Trump's remarks.

Ben-Gvir, notorious for his anti-Palestinians slurs and who for long called for what he called the "voluntary migration" of Palestinians from Gaza, said there is no time for "petty politics," according to the Times of Israel newspaper.

Earlier this month, Trump triggered uproar by suggesting that Palestinians in Gaza should be relocated to Jordan and Egypt, calling the enclave a “demolition site” after Israel’s war. His proposal, however, was vehemently rejected by Amman and Cairo.

A six-nation Arab ministerial meeting in Cairo on Saturday firmly rejected Palestinian displacement from Gaza and renewed calls for implementing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Trump’s proposal came after the ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed more than 47,500 Palestinians and left the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November last year for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.