US senator slams Trump's plan for Gaza

WASHINGTON

US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday criticized President Donald Trump's plan to move Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip.

"The ‘peace candidate’ Trump wants to force 2 million Palestinians from their homes, give another $1 billion in weapons to Netanyahu, and enact a ‘plan’ to turn the decimated Gaza strip into a billionaires' Riviera.

"If this is his ‘peace’ policy, I'd hate to see his war policy," Sanders wrote on X.

His remarks came one day after Trump said at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US "will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too" and send in US troops if necessary and turn it into "the Riviera of the Middle East."

The White House said Wednesday that Trump has not committed to putting US troops on the ground in Gaza.

"I can confirm that the president is committed to rebuilding Gaza and to temporarily relocating those who are there," spokesman Karoline Leavitt told reporters, adding the US "is not going to pay for the rebuilding of Gaza."

Trump’s proposal came after a 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 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.