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President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at the White House on Tuesday.Credit…Eric Lee/The New York Times

President Trump proposed yesterday that the U.S. take over Gaza, and that all Palestinians there — about two million people — should leave, describing a permanent relocation to one or more sites funded by “countries of interest with humanitarian hearts.” Catch up on the news conference.

His suggestion adds Gaza to the growing list of places that Trump wants to seize around the world, along with Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal. The president said it would be a “long-term ownership position” for the U.S. He did not answer a question about what legal authority would allow him to simply take over sovereign territory. “We will own it,” he said.

Framing the matter as a humanitarian imperative, Trump said he wanted Jordan and Egypt to take in the Palestinians. But neither state wants large numbers of Palestinians, nor is it clear that Gazans would willingly abandon the territory they have spent years defending. Hamas immediately rejected the suggestion, and the global reaction was sharply censorious.

Trump suggested the U.S. could help Palestinians “find the right piece of land” and “build them some really nice places.” He said he envisioned it as a permanent relocation. “I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza,” Trump said. “Gaza is not a place for people to be living.”

Context: Trump is hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at the White House to talk about the next stage of a cease-fire in the Gaza war.

In the West Bank: Two Israeli soldiers were killed in a shooting attack as Israel pressed ahead with a military operation there.

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