In a video posted on X, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US President, Donald Trump for keeping to his promise and giving “Israel the tools it needs to defend itself, to confront our common enemies and to secure a future of peace and prosperity.”
This follows after Trump on Saturday, January 25, 2025, said that he had ended the previous administration’s hold on sending 2,000-pound (907kg) bombs to Israel. “We released them today,” Trump said of the bombs, adding, “They’ve been waiting for them for a long time.”
Biden had paused delivery of the 2,000lb bombs owing to concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza caused by the powerful weapons, which can rip through thick concrete and metal over a large area.
The Biden administration had sent thousands of 2,000lb bombs to Israel after the war began, before it halted the shipments last year.
Asked why he lifted the ban on those bombs, Trump responded, “Because they bought them.”
On Saturday, Trump also said he would like to “just clean out” Gaza, urging Egypt and Jordan to take in more Palestinians from the coastal enclave.
Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich welcomed Trump’s idea to relocate Gaza’s residents to Egypt and Jordan.
“The idea of helping them find other places to start a better life is a great idea. After years of glorifying terrorism, they will be able to establish new and good lives in other places.”
Bezalel Smotrich
For Palestinians, any attempt to move them from Gaza would evoke dark memories of what they call the “Nakba” or catastrophe – the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.
Gaza’s Government Media Office condemned statements about the “transfer of Gaza citizens to neighbouring countries”, prompted by Trump and echoed by Israeli officials.
It said in a statement, “We affirm this notion will remain mere illusions in the minds of those who propose it, destined to fail like all previous plans and attempts at displacement over the past decades.”
“We warn against exploiting the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, caused by the genocide committed by the occupation. We demand swift action to address the diverse living and humanitarian needs of Gaza’s residents and expedite efforts for shelter, relief, and reconstruction.”
Gaza’s Government Media Office
Plan To Clear Out Gaza ‘Not A Solution’
Alon Liel, a former Director-General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, expressed concern over US President Trump’s suggestion that Egypt and Jordan should take in 1.5 million Palestinians from Gaza.
“Comments from the President are very surprising. I think he didn’t study the situation enough, and such comments are running against the mood here in the Middle East – in Egypt, in Jordan, and even in Israel. So I think he should check himself. I don’t think this is a solution.
“In the past, he’s said things that nobody thought he’d carry out and he did. I hope this time he’ll check with the leadership of the region and withdraw from these ideas. These ideas can further complicate not only our conflict with the Palestinians, but the whole situation in the region. So I hope it’s just an initial feeling of his and once he talks to the CIA and State Department he’ll withdraw.”
Alon Liel
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official, urged US President Donald Trump not to repeat “failed” ideas tried by his predecessor Joe Biden. “The people of Gaza have endured death and refused to leave their homeland and they will not leave it regardless of any other reasons,” Abu Zuhri said.
Palestinian Analyst Ghassan al-Khatib predicted Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, as well as the Jordanians and Egyptians, would reject Trump’s plan. “I don’t think that there is a place in reality for such an idea,” al-Khatib said.
READ ALSO: Yoon Indicted Over Martial Law Declaration
