WASHINGTON, Oct 10 — US President Donald Trump said yesterday that no one will be forced to leave Gaza under his ceasefire plan, adding that the agreement is “all finalised and done,” Anadolu Ajansi reported.
“Nobody is going to be forced to leave. It is the opposite. No, we’re not looking to do that at all,” Trump said when asked by a reporter whether Palestinians will be forced to leave Gaza under the US-proposed ceasefire deal.
Trump said the Gaza ceasefire deal has been “all finalised and done” and that he plans to travel to the Middle East this weekend.
“I think it’s going to be great. I think the hostages will be coming back Monday or Tuesday. I’ll probably be there. I hope to be there. And we’re planning on leaving sometime Sunday, and I look forward to it,” he told reporters at the Oval Office.
Trump announced Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his ceasefire plan for Gaza.
On September 29, he unveiled a 20-point ceasefire plan for Gaza that includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire enclave.
Phase two of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas’s participation, the formation of a security force made up of Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of Hamas.
It also stipulates Arab and Islamic funding for the new administration and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, with limited participation from the Palestinian Authority.
About 200 US troops will also take part in a multinational force that will monitor and help implement a ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip, Anadolu Ajansi reported, citing US officials yesterday.
One of the officials, who like the other briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, maintained that “no US troops are intended to go into Gaza.” The exact location where they will be staged is expected to be discussed today.
The official said they would instead be tasked initially with establishing a “joint control centre” before working to integrate with forces from other countries, “to deconflict with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), and then to build the right force structure that’s able to handle the missions as they are defined”.
Arab and Muslim countries have welcomed the plan, but some officials have said that many details in it need discussion and negotiations to be fully implemented.
