Marco Rubio challenges other countries to top Donald Trump Gaza plan

Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

People might criticize Donald Trump’s proposal to make the Gaza Strip the “Riviera of the Middle East” with “world-class resorts.”

However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio portrays those critics as unwilling to present alternatives to the President’s provocative pitch.

Rubio said Monday, “Donald Trump is the only one who’s stood up and said I’m willing to help do it.”

Others, including Australia, New Zealand, and several Middle Eastern nations, reject Trump’s plan. But they are talking loud and saying nothing, Rubio added.

“All these other leaders, they’re going to have to step up. If they’ve got a better idea, then now is the time. Now is the time for the other governments and other powers in the region, some of these very rich countries, to basically say, okay, we’ll do it. We’re going to pay for this; we’re going to step forward; we’re going to be the ones that take charge. None of them is offering to do it,” Rubio said on SiriusXM Patriot 125.

Indeed, Trump has offered an omnibus proposal.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said Tuesday during a press conference. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs.”

Rubio said on Monday that on “the broader challenge of Gaza, the President’s just pointed to the obvious.”

“I mean, Gaza is a place that, in addition to all the damage it suffered in the war – Hamas hides in the tunnels. It’s the civilians who they hide behind and underneath that have suffered the consequences of this. But that’s a place where there’s all kinds of unexploded munitions and bombs that Hamas has that’s been used in the conflict. Someone’s got to go in – for anybody to be able to live there, someone’s got to – you’ve got to clean it up. You’ve got to clean all that out of there even before you begin the process of removing rubble and debris and rebuilding housing, like permanent structures. Who’s going to do that?”

The Secretary of State has supported the President’s plan to “Make Gaza Beautiful Again” with the goal of “lasting peace in the region for all people,” and Monday’s comments are the latest example.