NEW YORK: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States are "a very long way from" deploying American troops to the Ga...
NEW YORK: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States are "a very long way from" deploying American troops to the Gaza Strip.
"I think, we are very long way from that," he said in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday.
According to his estimate, taking such a decision should be preceded by "robust discussions" he "would have as the Secretary of Defense with the President, with his National Security Adviser, with the Secretary of State with our allies and partners."
The Pentagon Chief acknowledged that "you don’t have to use American boots at all if you don’t have to."
"Ultimately, what I know is that Israelis, they want to finish the job against Hamas, they want to eradicate those responsible for what happened on October 7 [2023], they want to get hostages back. And, as their ally, we want to support the in doing so," the Secretary of Defense added.
On February 4, Trump said at a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following their talks at the White House, that the US was considering long-term ownership of the Gaza Strip in order to develop it for the sake of peace in the Middle East. Also, he proposed resettling Palestinians from the enclave to other countries in the region, which he said could pay for it. Trump also indicated that the US is ready to send its troops to Gaza if necessary.
The Palestinian authorities and representatives of many other countries rejected the idea of resettling residents of the enclave. According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin took note of Trump's proposals, but Moscow is familiar with the position of Egypt and Jordan, which did not accept this initiative.
-News Feed
COMMENTS