Netanyahu vows to ensure Trump's 'Gaza vision becomes a reality' after meeting with Rubio in Jerusalem

After meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government is working closely with the US to implement President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal. The controversial plan pushed by Trump involves America’s ownership of the coastal enclave and the removal of 2 million Palestinians living there for a redevelopment project.

Netanyahu met Rubio on Sunday in Jerusalem and defended Trump’s plan as “bold and visionary”. During their bilateral talks, Rubio and the Israeli premier blamed Iran for violence and the overall crisis in the Middle East and emphasised that Tehran needs to be stopped from developing nuclear weapons.

The meeting took place months after Trump shocked the world when he announced that he wanted to turn Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East”. The proposal was condemned by several leaders of the Arab nations since under Trump’s plan they had to face the burden of hosting millions of Palestinian refugees.

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‘Vision will become reality’: Netanyahu

However, there has been confusion regarding whether the Palestinian residents will be allowed back in the strip. While the Israeli ministers said that the relocation of the Palestinians would be temporary, Trump insisted that they wouldn’t be allowed to come back to the region, sparking further concerns.

“We discussed Trump’s bold vision for Gaza’s future and will work to ensure that vision becomes a reality,” Netanyahu told reporters after the meeting, which overran by an hour. “We have a common strategy, and we can’t always share the details of this strategy with the public," he added. The meeting between the two came on the sidelines of Rubio’s first tour to the Middle East as the US secretary of state.

Netanyahu maintained that the plan would include opening “the gates of hell” on Gaza, a phrase often used by Trump if all Israeli hostages held by Hamas are not released. Meanwhile, Rubio referred to Trump’s proposal as a “breakthrough”.“It may have shocked and surprised many,” he said. “But what cannot continue is the same cycle where we repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place," he added.

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Far-right lauds the proposal, international community raises concerns

Following the meeting, neither Rubio nor Netanyahu answered questions at the press briefing in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, said on Saturday night that he hoped the mass transfer of Palestinians from Gaza endorsed by Trump could begin soon.

“It’s a process I hope will begin in the coming weeks,” he told Israel’s Channel 12. “Even if it’s slow at first, it will gradually pick up pace and intensify. There won’t be anything for the Gazans in Gaza for the next 10 to 15 years. After we go back to fighting, and all of Gaza looks like Jabaliya, there definitely will be nothing for them there.” The Israeli minister was referring to the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, which was flattened by blanket bombing by Israel during the 15-month-long conflict.

He maintained that the main challenge Israel is facing would be countries willing and able to take 2 million Palestinians, coupled with “the huge logistical operation to get such vast numbers of people out of here”. Meanwhile, many international organisations have claimed that the planned removal of Palestinians from Gaza is a potential crime against humanity.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is already examining allegations of genocide against Israel and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Meanwhile, Netanyahu denounced both the international tribunals calling it a “lawfare”. On Sunday, he thanked the Trump administration for placing sanctions on the ICC and suggested more joint action against international judicial institutions was being planned.

“The secretary and I discussed working together to formulate a common strategy to deal with the threat of lawfare and neutralise this threat once and for all,” he said. Neither Rubio nor Netanyahu addressed the terms of the Gaza ceasefire and outrightly demanded the return of all hostages.