"I heard that America expect that Israel will hand over Gaza to America. We cannot do that because we don't own it: Gaza is not ours. Gaza is Palestinian." -Ehud Olmert, Former Israeli PM
Read more from BBC News Live online
By John Ringer
By John Ringer
Reporting from Washington DC
Thursday, 06 February 2025, 23:17 GMT - full copy:Former Israeli PM: 'Gaza is not ours. Gaza is Palestinian.'
A former Israeli prime minister has rejected Trump's proposal to "take over" Gaza, telling the BBC the plan is unworkable because the territory isn't Israel's to give away.
Ehud Olmert tells the BBC's World News America programme he'd welcome US help in reconstructing Gaza, but only if it's being rebuilt by and for Palestinians.
Olmert was a member of current Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party for over 30 years. But in 2006 he and then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon broke from the party in order to withdraw Israeli troops and settlers from Gaza.
Watch what he had to say below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cvg4zwwez9et
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