Baba UmarWashington, DC — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has discussed with US President Donald Trump the fate of Palestinians proposed to be displaced from Gaza, pushing forward conversations on potential third-country relocation — but American officials are non-committal about details, refusing to name which nations, if any, are considering taking them in.
Asked directly by TRT World's Baba Umar whether those countries are in the Middle East or outside of the region, US State Department Spokeswoman, Tammy Bruce, offered no names, instead describing the discussions as "part of the ideas that have been discussed, or, contemplated."
"There's a realisation," Bruce said, "that the President (Donald Trump) has noted that… Gaza's strip [is not] an environment where one can live peacefully or safely, and in order to rebuild and to remake, people have to be safe."
"Where we go with those conversations, I won't discuss the end result."
Netanyahu is in the US for a multi-day trip, holding meetings in Washington, DC.
On Monday, Netanyahu said that Israel is working with the US to identify countries that could "offer Palestinians a better future," as he met with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
"Israel is working with the US to find countries that will give Palestinians a better future," Netanyahu told reporters at the start of the meeting.
"We're working with the United States very closely about finding countries that will seek to realise what they always say, that they wanted to give the Palestinians a better future. I think we're getting close to finding several countries."
An astounding shift
Reflecting on the broader geopolitical moment, Bruce noted that "after everything we've experienced… just five to six months — what has changed already?"
She referred to remarks made by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, at Tuesday's Cabinet session, adding, "It's been an astounding shift… not in a moment of a singular ceasefire, but changes in attitudes and what we expect."
Bruce emphasised that regional players have a key role, saying, "It's the regional partners, the nations in that region, who also have an overwhelming interest in the destruction, in the carnage ending."
On whether any countries have agreed to take in Palestinians, or whether any specific proposals have been finalised, Bruce said only: "We'll have to wait and see who is going to participate and how we make this a better future for the people."
The statement comes amid deepening questions about Israel's long-term goals for Gaza — and growing concern over the fate of its displaced population.
Earlier this year, Trump floated the idea of relocating Palestinians and taking over the Gaza to turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
Palestinians criticised the proposal and vowed never to leave their homes. Human rights groups condemned the plan as "ethnic cleansing."
