SIR Keir Starmer today refused to directly criticise Donald Trump over his plan to “take over” Gaza and turn the strip into a seaside resort.
At PMQs Sir Keir gently rejected the President’s plan to permanently resettle Palestinians in Jordan and Egypt so he can transform the war-torn enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
PAAt PMQs today Sir Keir Starmer refused to criticise Donald Trump directly – but rejected the President’s plan to “take over” Gaza[/caption]
RexAt a press conference with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, the US President declared he want to turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East”[/caption]
The PM insisted that Gazans displaced by the devastating war “must be allowed home”.
But in a desperate to stay on his US counterpart’s good side, Sir Keir refused to slam the proposal in terms as strong as other world leaders.
In a packed out Commons the PM said: “I have from the last few weeks two images fixed in my mind.
“The first is the image of British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari reunited with her mother, which I found extremely moving.
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“The second was the image of thousands of Palestinians walking, literally walking, through the rubble to try to find their homes and their communities in Gaza, they must be allowed home.
“They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two state solution.”
Trump sparked outrage across the globe today after vowing to take over the devastated Gaza Strip and “level” the site before looking to redevelop it.
The President said he wants to create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.
Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia immediately blasted the proposal.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reaffirms its unequivocal rejection of any infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, land annexation, or attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land,”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Republican’s clear plan to help rebuild the war-torn strip saying it will “change history”.
Earlier today Foreign Secretary David Lammy claimed Trump was “right” to say Gaza must be rebuilt.
At a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, he said: “Donald Trump is right. Looking at those scenes, Palestinians who have been horrendously displaced over so many months of war, it is clear that Gaza is lying in rubble.”
But the Foreign Secretary added that “we must see two states and we must see Palestinians able to live and prosper in their homelands in Gaza and in the West Bank”.
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