US secretary of state says nations criticising Trump’s Gaza remarks should instead help rebuild

WASHINGTON, DEB 7 — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that countries denouncing President Donald Trump’s comments on Gaza should step forward and help the battered Palestinian territory.

Arab countries and Palestinian leaders have voiced strong opposition to Trump’s suggestion that the two million residents of Gaza move out after the devastating war.

Rubio again insisted that Trump was offering reconstruction as Gaza for now is “uninhabitable.”

He said Trump’s controversial remarks were aimed in part to encourage other countries that “have both the economic and technological capacity” to help as well with rebuilding.

“President Trump has offered to go in and be a part of that solution,” Rubio told reporters in the Dominican Republic.

“If some other countries are willing to step forward and do it themselves, that would be great, but no one seems to be rushing forward to do that,” he said.

“There are countries in the region who express a lot of concern about the Palestinian people.

“We encourage them to step forward and find a solution and answer to their problem.” — AFP