Trump says US should ‘take’ Gaza and turn it into ‘freedom zone’

Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants the US to “take” Gaza and turn it into a “freedom zone” as Israel tightens its siege and continues its military onslaught on the Palestinian enclave.

“I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good, make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone,” the US president said in Qatar, on the third day of his Middle East trip, which began with a visit to Riyadh earlier this week.

Qatar has been a key player in efforts to broker an end to the 19-month Israeli war on Gaza and to secure the release of captives held by Hamas. Doha has strongly opposed previous statements by Trump that he intends to take over Gaza and turn it into “a Riviera of the Middle East”.

“I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone,” AFP reported Trump as saying.

Trump also warned that the US would “go back on the offensive” if Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched new attacks, despite a recently agreed ceasefire with Washington.

The US president suggested that a deal on Iran’s nuclear programme was close, potentially avoiding military conflict – a development that sent oil prices tumbling amid renewed optimism for diplomacy.

“We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran,” Trump said.

“I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this,” he added, referring to possible military action.

Oil prices dropped by more than three percent following Trump’s remarks, as markets responded to the prospect of a breakthrough in US-Iran negotiations.

Iran has held four rounds of talks with the Trump administration, which has been working to prevent a threatened Israeli military strike on Tehran’s nuclear programme.

“You probably read today the story about Iran. It’s sort of agreed to the terms,” Trump told reporters, though he did not specify the agreement he was referring to.

According to ABC News, Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tehran was prepared to give up its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium in return for the lifting of US sanctions.

Encouraging diplomacy

Trump credited Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, with playing a pivotal role in encouraging diplomacy. 

Iran, he said, should “say a big thank you” to the Qatari leader for urging the US to avoid military action against its larger neighbour.

Also on Thursday, during a meeting with business leaders, including the heads of Boeing and GE Aerospace, Trump said his administration is considering the development of a twin-engined warplane to be named the F-55, in addition to an upgrade to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor called the F-22 Super, Reuters reported. 

“We’re going to do an F-55 and – I think, if we get the right price, we have to get the right price – that’ll be two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35, and then we’re going to do the F-22,” Trump said.

“I think the most beautiful fighter jet in the world is the F-22 but we’re going to do an F-22 Super and it’ll be a very modern version of the F-22 fighter jet.”

Later on Thursday, Trump addressed troops at the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, where the regional headquarters of the Pentagon’s Central Command is based.

“As president, my priority is to end conflicts, not start them, but I will never hesitate to wield American power if it’s necessary to defend the United States of America or our partners,” Trump said.

“Qatar will also be investing $10 billion to support this massive base in the coming years,” Trump said as he addressed troops.

The US president is due to travel to the United Arab Emirates later on Thursday, on the final leg of his lucrative Middle East trip, which he has touted as an opportunity for mass job creation at home. 

On Wednesday, he declared what he described as the biggest deal in the history of the American jet maker Boeing, saying Qatar had agreed to order up to 210 American-made Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777x aircraft in a $96bn deal.

“This is a record tour. There’s never been a tour that will raise – it could be a total of $3.5-$4 trillion just in these four or five days,” Trump said in Qatar.

The White House said on Wednesday that the president had secured $1.2 trillion in “economic commitments” from Qatar, but qualified the announcement, saying the deals totalled more than $240bn, including the Boeing order.

Saudi Arabia promised $600bn in investment, including including a record $142bn in arms sales.