Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Fox News United States President Donald Trump’s “remarkable” plan for displacing Palestinians from Gaza “should be really pursued, examined and done”.

    The proposal has been widely rejected, including by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who said they would “never leave, no matter what”.

    Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon has said his country will “stand with” the US and “not participate” in the “biased” UN Human Rights Council a day after Trump also quit the Geneva-based body.

    US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that the US military is “prepared to look at all options” in Gaza, as Netanyahu continued his Washington trip with a visit to the Pentagon.

    Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 47,552 people and injured 111,629 others, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. The Gaza Government Media Office has given a death toll of at least 61,709 people, saying thousands of people who are missing are now presumed dead. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.

    Israeli poll shows 72% of respondents support Trump Gaza plan

    Some 72 percent of respondents to the Channel 13 poll said they would support the resettlement of Palestinians away from Gaza, as proposed by President Trump on Tuesday.

    Only 17 percent of respondents in the Channel 13 poll said they were against the plan, while 11 percent responded saying they didn’t know either way.

    Similar results were seen in another poll this week, as reported by the Jewish People Policy Institute think tank. In that poll, approximately seven in 10 respondents agreed with the notion that “Arabs from Gaza should relocate to another country”.

    A narrow majority of 52 percent of Jewish Israelis also agreed with the notion that Trump’s plan is “practical” and should be pursued.

    More on Secretary of State Rubio’s softening of Gaza plan

    As we reported earlier, the US Secretary of State described President Trump’s proposal as a unique offer to clear debris and destruction in Gaza.

    “What he very generously has offered is the ability of the United States to go in and help with debris removal, help with munitions removal, help with reconstruction, the rebuilding homes and businesses and things of this nature so that then people can move back in,” Rubio said at a news conference in Guatemala City.

    “In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while you’re rebuilding it,” he added.

    White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt also backtracked on Trump’s initial suggestion the US would “own” Gaza, saying the president only wants Palestinians to be “temporarily relocated”.

    According to Senator Josh Hawley, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff also told Republican senators at a closed-door lunch that Trump “doesn’t want to put any US troops on the ground, and he doesn’t want to spend any US dollars at all” on Gaza.

    Where to next for Netanyahu

    The Israeli prime minister is having a busy week in Washington, DC.

    He’s just wrapped up an afternoon at the Pentagon with an interview on Fox News.

    Next up, Netanyahu is due on Capitol Hill on Thursday, where he’ll meet with senior US representatives, including Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune in the morning and House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson in the afternoon.

    Johnson and Netanyahu are also scheduled to hold a joint news conference, although it’s not clear yet if it will be as eventful as the two news conferences Trump held with Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday.

    The Israeli leader also carved out time to sit down with American Evangelical Christian leaders, including Trump’s pick for Israel envoy, Mike Huckabee, on Monday, according to Israel’s UN envoy, Danny Danon.

    The Israeli prime minister, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for “crimes against humanity and war crimes” in Gaza, is the first world leader invited as an official guest by the Trump White House.

    More from US congressman who announced plan to impeach Trump over Gaza plan

    We reported earlier that US Congressman Al Green had announced his plan to introduce articles of impeachment for US President Donald Trump over his remarks on Gaza.

    Green, a Democratic representative from Texas, has now shared a video of his speech in a post on social media.

    “Ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the president of the United States, the most powerful person in the world,” Green said.

    “I rise to announce that I will bring articles of impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done.”

    Netanyahu says Trump’s ‘remarkable’ Gaza displacement plan should be pursued

    Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu said he didn’t see any issues with Trump’s proposal to displace Gaza’s population, a plan that has been widely decried as a form of “ethnic cleansing”.

    “The actual idea of allowing Gazans who want to leave to leave. I mean, what’s wrong with that? They can leave, they can then come back, they can relocate and come back. But you have to rebuild Gaza. If you want to rebuild Gaza, you can’t have …” Netanyahu said, without finishing his sentence.

    “This is the first good idea I’ve heard. It’s a remarkable idea, and I think it should be really pursued, examined, and done,” Netanyahu added.