Trump suggestion on Gaza strip: ‘Clean out the whole thing’

President Trump indicated Sunday that the way to help the situation in Gaza is to “clean out the whole thing.”

Aboard Air Force One, Trump said Gaza is a “real mess,” after the Palestinian militant group Hamas’s war with Israel, CNN reported.

Trump said he would like the two bordering countries, Jordan and Egypt, to house Gazans. He also said he would speak to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about that idea.

“You’re talking about a million and a half people, we just clean out the whole thing,” Trump said, noting the centuries-long conflict in the region.

Trump said “something” has to happen, since Gaza is currently “literally a demolition site”

“Almost everything’s demolished and people are dying there, so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location where I think they could maybe live in peace for a change,” Trump said.

He added that the housing could be temporary or long-term.

Last week, ahead of Trump’s inauguration, a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced. The deal, negotiated by former President Biden, ended the months of fighting in the region that destroyed much of Gaza and left a famine.

The deal is a three-part plan, originally introduced by Biden last year. Part of that plan is recovery for Gaza.

Trump’s comments appear to break with years of U.S. foreign policy, which has recognized a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel, CNN noted.