Rubio, Netanyahu affirm ‘common strategy’ for Gaza, set sights on Iran in joint statement

Secretary of State Marco Rubio advanced President Donald Trump’s “bold” plan for Gaza during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.

Rubio and Netanyahu both highlighted that Iran is the single largest obstacle to peace in the region during a Sunday joint statement. While Netanyahu did not comment on Trump’s specific plans for Gaza, Rubio emphasized that the U.S. and Israel cannot return to “tired” strategies that have failed to produce peace in the past.

“The president has also been very bold about his view of what the future for Gaza should be. Not the same tired ideas of the past, but something that’s bold and something that, frankly, took courage and vision in order to outline. And it may have shocked and surprised many, but what cannot continue is the same cycle we’ll repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place,” Rubio said.

Netanyahu affirmed that he and Trump share a “common strategy” for Gaza that includes the complete destruction of Hamas as a political and military force. He did not comment specifically on Trump’s stated plans to develop Gaza.

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Netanyahu vowed to “open the gates of hell” on Hamas if it did not follow through with releasing every remaining hostage in Gaza.

Rubio and Netanyahu discussed various other threats in the Middle East, including the collapse of Syria’s government and the presence of Hezbollah in Lebanon, among other things.

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“The common theme in all these challenges is Iran. It is the single greatest source of instability in the region, behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region home, is Iran,” Rubio said.

“There can never be a nuclear Iran, a nuclear Iran that could then hold itself immune from pressure and from action. That can never happen,” he added.

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The meeting comes more than a week after Trump raised eyebrows with a call to remove Palestinians from Gaza and develop the area under U.S. ownership. Trump said he remains committed to the plan despite heavy pushback.

“I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza,” Trump said. “As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it, other people may do it, through our auspices. But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back.”