Flashback: John Fetterman says he would 'fully support' U.S. troops in Gaza after Trump floats proposal [View all]

[Celerity]

The Pennsylvania Democrat, a staunch defender of Israel, has shown a public openness to working with President Donald Trump.

https://www.inquirer.com/politics/fetterman-trump-gaza-occupation-20250204.html

https://archive.ph/mozAc

Updated Feb. 6, 2025, 9:40 a.m. ET
Published Feb. 4, 2025, 10:59 p.m. ET

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has shown a public openness to working with President Donald Trump, reportedly said Tuesday that he would “fully support” a role for U.S. forces after Trump proposed a U.S. occupation of Gaza.

“The Palestinians have refused, or they’ve been unwilling, to deliver a government that provided security and economic development for themselves,” Fetterman said, according to a report from Jewish Insider. “They allowed 10/7 to occur, and now Gaza has to be rebuilt. Where are the people going to live? Where are they going to go? So it’s part of a conversation with where they’re at right now.”

Asked about the possibility of U.S. troops on the ground, Fetterman told Jewish Insider he did not know what their specific role would entail. “But they’re obviously a part of it, and I fully support,” said Fetterman, who was in Washington to vote as the lone Democrat in support of confirming Trump nominee Pam Bondi for attorney general.

During a news conference with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump proposed relocating displaced Palestinians in war-torn Gaza, and suggested the U.S. take “ownership” of the Gaza Strip. He also said he was not ruling out deploying U.S. troops to aid in the area’s redevelopment.

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