Trump expresses again his views on US control over Gaza and eviction of Palestinians

"Having a peace force like the United States there, controlling and owning the Gaza Strip would be a good thing," Trump said during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

The US president also reiterated his proposal to relocate the population of Gaza, stating that many countries would accept the 2.1 million displaced Palestinians. However, regional allies have previously rejected such an idea.

"If you take the people, the Palestinians, and move them around to different countries — and you have plenty of countries that will do that — and you really have a freedom zone. You call it the freedom zone, a free zone, a zone where people aren’t going to be killed every day," Trump said.

The US president then questioned, "why Israel ever gave (Gaza) up?"

"They took oceanfront property and they gave it to people for peace. How did that work out?" said the American leader, suggesting that the enclave could be turned into a Riviera (a resort area) under US ownership.

CNN reminded viewers that Israel captured Gaza during the Six-Day War of 1967 and held it under occupation for nearly 40 years (to be precise, 38 years — from 1967 to 2005).

What does Trump say about Gaza

After returning to the White House as US president, Donald Trump repeatedly raised the issue of Gaza and the Palestinians.

Specifically, he stated that the Palestinians had no alternative but to leave Gaza. Moreover, he insisted that Jordan and Egypt should accept refugees from the region.

In February, he also mentioned his intention to buy and take control of Gaza. At the same time, he suggested that other Middle Eastern countries could be allowed to rebuild parts of the war-torn enclave.