Trump again about taking over Gaza: It's not like there's anything to save there, all buildings are destroyed

(Patria) - US President Donald Trump reiterated yesterday that he wants to take over the Gaza Strip, saying at a business roundtable in Qatar that the US will turn the area into a "freedom zone".

Trump first publicly presented his plan for the Gaza Strip in February, saying that the US would rebuild it and force Palestinians to leave.

The plan has drawn global condemnation. Palestinians, Arab nations, and the UN have stated that it would amount to ethnic cleansing.

Speaking to a group of officials and businessmen in Qatar, Trump said he has "concepts for Gaza that he thinks are good".

He states that he has seen aerial footage showing that practically no building in the Gaza Strip is intact.

- It's not like you're trying to save something. There are no buildings. People are living under the rubble of collapsed buildings, which is unacceptable.

I want (Gaza) to be a freedom zone. And if necessary, I think I would be proud if the US had it, took it over, made it a freedom zone. Let some good things happen - Trump said.

Trump previously said he wanted to turn the Gaza Strip into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

Palestinians reject any plan that would require them to leave the Gaza Strip, which for them would be a second "Nakba", or catastrophe, as in 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had to leave their homes in the war that led to the establishment of the State of Israel.

Many claim they would rather stay and live in the ruins of their homes.