David Lammy says ‘Trump is right’ that Gaza is ‘lying in rubble’

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said that US President Donald Trump is correct that Gaza is “lying in rubble”, while insisting in contrast to the president’s comments on Tuesday that Palestinians must be able to “live and prosper” in Gaza. 

“I don’t know how [Palestinians in Gaza] could want to stay,” Trump remarked at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

“It’s a demolition site. It’s a pure demolition site,” he said.

“If we can find the right piece of land or numerous pieces of land and build them some really nice places, with plenty of money in the area, that’s for sure, I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza, which has had just decades and decades of death.”

Asked for his response at a press conference in Ukraine’s Kyiv, the British foreign secretary said: “Donald Trump is right. Looking at those scenes of Palestinians who have been horrendously displaced over so many months of war, it’s clear that Gaza is lying in rubble.”

However, he added: “We’ve always been clear in our belief that we must see two states, we must see Palestinians able to live and prosper in their homelands in Gaza, in the West Bank. That is what we want to get to.

“That is why it’s important that we move out of phase one of this hostage deal to phase two, and then to phase three, and reconstructing Gaza.

“We will play our part in that support for reconstruction, working alongside the Palestinian Authority and alongside Gulf and Arab partners. That’s the guarantee that we all need to ensure that there is a future for Palestinians in their homeland.”

Notably, Lammy stopped short of condemning Trump’s stunning declaration that the US will “own Gaza” and that Palestinians have no alternative but to leave without the prospect of returning.

In parliament, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer likewise insisted that “Palestinians must be allowed to return home”, but refused to condemn Trump’s comments. 

Middle East Eye asked the Foreign Office whether it condemned Trump’s remarks, but did not receive a response.

‘Bizarre but also dangerous’

There has been an outcry from opposition politicians urging the government to oppose Trump’s position. 

Calum Miller, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson, called the president’s proposal “bizarre but also dangerous”, urging the government to “immediately recognise Palestine as a state”.

Green Party MP Ellie Chowns noted that the “forced movement” of the people of Gaza would be “ethnic cleansing”, and demanded that the British government “respond in the strongest terms condemning Trump’s reckless remarks”.

And independent MP Shockat Adam called Trump’s remarks “absolutely appalling”, warning they confirmed fears that “extreme elements” in Israel “want to ethnically cleanse Gaza”. 

By contrast Priti Patel, the Conservative shadow foreign secretary, when asked about what Trump said, responded: “We will have to wait and see, because no one country will be able to do this on their own.

“Our partners, our allies in the Gulf states and the Middle East, we’ve already heard from the Saudi government as well… they will all have a role to play.”