President Donald Trump “has not committed” to sending U.S. military to Gaza as part of his new proposal to “own” the territory, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday, though she did not rule out the possibility.
Pressed by a reporter on whether Trump wants “boots on the ground,” she said, “The president has not committed to that just yet.”
The remarks appeared to bring down the temperature on the president’s surprise announcement, which even some in his own party did not anticipate.
Leavitt told reporters at a White House briefing that Trump’s Tuesday night pitch for a “long-term ownership position” in Gaza would “not mean American taxpayers” would be on the hook. Rather, “it means Donald Trump, who is the best dealmaker on the planet, is going to strike a deal with our partners in the region,” she said.
But she did not give specifics on how the U.S. could “own” the war-torn territory, only stating that the strip should no longer be controlled by Hamas and that Palestinian people should not remain there while it is being rebuilt.
“I think it’s actually quite evil to suggest that people should live in such dire conditions,” she said.
When a reporter asked why the White House won’t explicitly rule out U.S. troops being sent to Gaza, Leavitt suggested it was part of Trump’s negotiating position.
“I think the president is very good when he’s making deals and negotiating not to rule out anything because he wants to preserve that leverage in negotiations,” she said.
In a Tuesday night press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump surprised basically anyone following along by pitching U.S. ownership of Gaza.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it,” he said.
The president gave no clarity on what exactly that would mean or how the U.S. would go about taking that position in the region.
“This is an out-of-the-box idea,” Leavitt said Wednesday.
Arab nations have broadly rejected the president’s suggestions — made repeatedly since taking office — that neighboring states should help to relocate Palestinians, saying it would endanger efforts to seek a two-state solution in the region (a policy that Trump on Tuesday did not reaffirm his commitment to).
After his remarks, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry pushed back on any notion that the Gaza Strip would not remain with the Palestinian people, saying the country was “firm” on its position.
—
Jasmine Wright is a reporter at NOTUS.