President Donald Trump, while saying that the US will take over Gaza Strip, also suggested that under his plan, “the world’s people” would be able to reside in the Palestinian enclave.

“I do see a long-term ownership position and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East,” Reuters quoted Trump as saying. He added that he had spoken to regional leaders and they supported the idea.

Asked who would live there, Trump said it could become a home to “the world’s people”. Trump touted the narrow strip as having the potential to be “The Riviera of the Middle East”.

Trump did not directly respond to a question of how and under what authority the US can take over and occupy Gaza, home to around two million people with a long, violent history over control of the coastal strip. Successive US administrations, including Trump in his first term, had avoided deploying US troops there.

Netanyahu would not be drawn into discussing the proposal in depth other than to praise Trump for trying a new approach.