Trump says he’s ‘committed to buying and owning Gaza'

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he is committed to buying Gaza and letting other nations develop parts of it.

"I'm committed to buying and owning Gaza," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans, Louisiana.

He reiterated that the Palestinian enclave is a demolition site and uninhabitable.

"They're very unsafe. But we'll make it into a very good site for future development by somebody. We'll let other countries develop parts of it. It'll be beautiful. People can come from all over the world that live there, but we're going to take care of the Palestinians. We're going to make sure they live beautifully and in harmony and in peace, and that they're not murdered. This has been the most dangerous site anywhere in the world to live in," he added.

Responding to a question on whether he will accept Palestinian refugees into the United States, Trump said: "I'd have to look.”

"I think it's a very far distance for them to travel, but I'd have to look at individual cases. But I do think that coming into the United States, we're taking a lot of people, but coming into the United States, it's a long way for them to travel.”

"I think they'd be very happy staying in the general area with a place that was safe, where they could be safe and lead a good life," he added.

Trump also claimed that Palestinians do not want to go back to what's left of Gaza, saying he hopes Egypt and Jordan, backed by other countries, will help them.

He suggested that Saudi Arabia and others can spend some money on it.

"They have tremendous amounts of money. They'll spend some money on making people comfortable and safe," he added.

Trump also said the US does not want the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.

"And think of it as a big real estate site, and the United States is going to own it and will slowly, very slowly, we're in no rush, develop it. We bring stability to the Middle East and a totally war-torn part of the Middle East, a part of the Middle East that has caused tremendous problem, tremendous problem, the Gaza Strip, and will own it," he said.

On Feb. 4, Trump said that Washington would “take over” Gaza and resettle Palestinians elsewhere under an extraordinary redevelopment plan that he claimed could turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

His proposal was met with widespread condemnation from the Palestinians, Arab countries, and many other nations across the world, including Canada, France, Germany, and the UK.