“Temporary Relocation, No US Boots on Ground…” Trump Aides Clarify On Prez’s Gaza ‘Takeover’ Plan

The Trump administration appeared to backtrack on the President’s shock plan to remove Palestinians and launch a US takeover of the Gaza Strip. A day after Trump said “the US will take over” and “own” Gaza and that Palestinians would “go to other countries,” his administration sought to downplay expectations. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the idea was for Gazans to leave the territory for an “interim” period of reconstruction and debris-clearing. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump wants Palestinians to be only “temporarily relocated” out of Gaza instead of permanently resettled in Arab-majority states like Egypt. Leavitt stressed that the president had not committed to putting “boots on the ground” in the territory. Video: AP/AFP/Reutersn18oc_world n18oc_crux