Cnn
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President Donald Trump urged Israel on Monday to cancel his cease-fire contract with Hamas and “let any hell break out” if Hamas does not return hostages that are still held in Gaza before noon on Saturday.
Earlier Monday, Hamas threatened to postpone the next hostage statement scheduled for Saturday “until further notice”, accusing Israel of having broken the ceasefire agreement.
“As far as I’m concerned, if all the hostages did not return on Saturday at 12 noon – I think it’s an appropriate moment – I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell burst, The president told journalists in the oval office after signing leaders’ actions.
“I would say that they should be returned at 12 noon on Saturday, and if they have not returned – all, not in drops and dulls, not two and one and three and two. Saturday at 12 noon, and after that, I would say that all the hell will break out. »»
Pressed what “all hell” could lead to Gaza, Trump said: “You will discover it, and they will discover it – Hamas will discover what I mean.”
Trump has expressed skepticism that many hostages remain alive, telling journalists: “I think a lot of hostages are dead.”
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff participated in the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which was obtained in the decreasing days of the administration of President Joe Biden. But since his entry into office, Trump suggested that he was not sure that the cease-fire that would hold. Its plan to permanently move the Gaza Palestinians and for the United States to “own” the band has injected even more uncertainty into the process.
He said explicitly in an interview this weekend that the Palestinians would not have the right to return to Gaza under his plan to take us to the owner of the strip and rebuild him.
“No, they wouldn’t do it,” said Trump in an interview on Fox News when asked if the Palestinians would have the right to return. “Because they will have much better housing. Much better – in other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them. »»
Trump’s assertion that the Palestinians would not be entitled to return to Gaza is certain to deepen the international opposition to the proposal, which attracted outcry when he announced it last week during A press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Subsequently, some Trump aid sought to soften or clarify the aspects of the plan. Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary of the White House, said that Trump only offered a temporary resettlement of the Palestinians while Gaza was rebuilt.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was traveling to Latin America, when Trump revealed his idea, suggested that Gaza’s resettlements are only provisional.
“What he very generously has offered is the ability of the United States to go in and help with debris removal, help with munitions removal, help with reconstruction – the rebuilding of homes and business of this nature, so that? Back, “said Rubio last week.
However, Trump himself, in the comments thereafter, did something other than back down. He told journalists in the Air Force One on Sunday that he considered the region torn apart by the war as a “large real estate site”.
“I think it’s a big mistake to allow people – Palestinians or people living in Gaza – to come back again, and we don’t want Hamas to come back. And think about it as a large real estate site, and the United States will own it and we develop it slowly-very slowly, we will not develop it. We will soon bring stability in the Middle East, “Trump told journalists when he went to the Super Bowl.
He added during his interview on Fox – registered on Saturday but was broadcast on Monday morning – that it would take years before anyone who could consider living in Gaza given the destruction of the war.
“If they have to return it now, it will take years before you can never – it is not habitable. It will take years before it could happen, “he said. “I’m talking about starting to build and I think I could conclude an agreement with Jordan. I think I could conclude an agreement with Egypt. We give them billions and billions of dollars a year. »»
Trump is expected to meet King Abdullah of Jordan on Tuesday, who with his counterparts in Egypt and other Arab nations categorically rejected Trump’s plan.
Trump told Fox that his plan was to “own” Gaza.
“We are going to build the safe communities of the place where they are, where all this danger is and in the meantime, I would have it. Consider it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a magnificent field, “he said.
When Trump unveiled his plan last week, he caught several senior administration officials by surprise. Although the president discusses an initiative aimed at taking control of Gaza and rebuilding it for several days, he had not reported his intention to make public plans.
Subsequently, some of his aid suggested that the president hoped to stimulate the action of regional nations, which, according to him, had not offered their own ideas on what to do with Gaza.
“Come to the table with your plan if you don’t like her plan,” said Trump’s national security advisor Mike Waltz’s comments from Trump earlier this week.
This story and this title have been updated with additional developments.