Source : NEW INDIAN EXPRESS NEWS
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wanted the United States to “take” Gaza and turn it into a “freedom zone”, as the Israel-Hamas war rages on in the Palestinian territory.
“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,” Trump said during his visit to Qatar.
“I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone,” the US President added.
Trump’s comments come as Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes and artillery shelling on Thursday killed at least 82 people in the war-battered Palestinian territory.
Notably, the Israeli government approved plans to expand the offensive earlier this month, and spoke of the “conquest” of Gaza.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 52,928 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.
Trump, who is visiting the Gulf nation as part of a three-country Mideast swing, attended a state dinner held in his honor by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the US President urged Qatar to use its influence over Iran to persuade the country’s leadership to reach an agreement with the US to dial back its rapidly advancing nuclear program.
He is expected to visit a US base installation on Thursday at the center of American involvement in the Middle East as he uses his four-day visit to Gulf states to reject the “interventionism” of America’s past in the region.
The Qatari base houses some 8,000 US troops, down from about 10,000 at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Trump has also used his trip to announce plans to recognize the government of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and to ease sanctions on the war-torn country. The US has deployed more than 1,000 troops in Syria for years to suppress a return of the Islamic State group.
Trump heaped praise on al-Sharaa — who was tied to al-Qaida and joined insurgents battling US forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian civil war — after the two met in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The president called al-Sharaa a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.” It was a stark contrast from earlier years, when Al-Sharaa was imprisoned by US troops in Iraq. Until December, there was a $10 million US bounty for his arrest.
Al Jazeera mutes critiques during Trump’s visit
Qatar’s satellite news channel Al Jazeera long has been a powerful force in the Middle East, often taking editorial positions at odds with America’s interests in the region during the wars that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaida.
But during Trump’s visit to the Gulf Arab nation this week, state-funded Al Jazeera muted its typical critiques of American foreign policy.
The channel, which broadcasts in Arabic and English, broadly covered Trump’s visit in a straightforward manner, highlighting it was the first-ever trip to Qatar by a sitting American leader.
Mentions of the Israel-Hamas war, which Al Jazeera often has criticized America over for its military support to Israel, did not include any critiques of US policy. Instead, journalists highlighted Qatar’s role as a mediator in the war and aired comments by Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, calling for a ceasefire.
(With inputs from AP and AFP)
SOURCE :- NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
