President Donald Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benajamin Netanyahu to the White House Tuesday, marking the first visit from a foreign leader during Trump’s second term.
During Netanyahu’s visit, Trump also unveiled massive plans suggesting that the U.S. would ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip in a ‘long-term ownership position’ to deliver stability to the region.
‘The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,’ Trump said Tuesday evening in a joint press conference with Netanyahu. ‘We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.’
Even so, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president wouldn’t commit to placing U.S. troops on the ground in Gaza as part of the rebuilding effort.
‘It’s been made very clear to the president that the United States needs to be involved in this rebuilding effort, to ensure stability in the region for all people,’ Leavitt told reporters Wednesday at a White House press briefing. ‘But that does not mean boots on the ground in Gaza. It does not mean American taxpayers will be funding this effort. It means Donald Trump, who is the best dealmaker on the planet, is going to strike a deal with our partners in the region.’
Leavitt said that Trump is an ‘outside-of-the-box thinker’ who is ‘a visionary leader who solves problems that many others, especially in this city, claim are unsolvable.’
The announcement sparked backlash though from Democratic lawmakers, to leaders of Palestinian militant group, Hamas.
‘What President Trump stated about his intention to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip outside it and the United States’ control over the Strip by force is a crime against humanity,’ a senior Hamas official told Fox News on Wednesday.
Here are some other actions Trump took his second week in office:
Maximum pressure on Iran
Trump also reinstated his ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran, instructing the Treasury Department to execute ‘maximum economic pressure’ upon Iran through a series of sanctions aimed at sinking Iran’s oil exports.
Trump said Tuesday that he was ‘torn’ about signing the order and admitted he was ‘unhappy to do it,’ noting that the executive order was very tough on Iran.
‘Hopefully, we’re not going to have to use it very much,’ Trump told reporters Tuesday.
Trump later told reporters in a joint press conference with Netanyahu that he believes Iran is ‘close’ to developing a nuclear weapon, but that the U.S. would stop a ‘strong’ Tehran from obtaining one.
‘They’re very strong right now, and we’re not going to let them get a nuclear weapon,’ Trump said.
His first administration also adopted a ‘maximum pressure’ initiative against Tehran, issuing greater sanctions and harsher enforcement for violations.
Strict sanctions were reimposed upon Iran after Trump withdrew from the Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in May 2018. The 2015 agreement brokered under the Obama administration had lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear program.
Sanctions against the International Criminal Court
Trump also signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday, in response to its May 2024 arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
The order — which was lauded by even some top Democrats — unveils financial sanctions and visa restrictions against ICC officials and their family members who support ICC investigations against U.S. citizens and allies.
The White House also signed executive orders on Thursday instructing the Justice Department to establish a task force dedicated to weeding out ‘anti-Christian bias,’ and a review of all nongovernmental organizations that accept federal funds.
The ICC is an independent, international organization based in The Hague and established under the Rome Statute, an international treaty that took effect in 2002. The court oversees global issues including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The Trump White House claims that the U.S. and Israel are not subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC because the court poses threats to U.S. sovereignty and constitutional protections. Additionally, the White House has accused the ICC of politicization and said it has targeted Israel without holding regimes like Iran to the same standards.
Sovereign Wealth Fund
The U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments will establish a sovereign wealth fund in accordance with a new executive order Trump signed on Monday.
The sovereign wealth fund, a state-owned investment fund with various financial assets like stocks and bonds, could foot the bill for purchasing TikTok, according to Trump.
‘We’re going to be doing something perhaps with TikTok, and perhaps not,’ Trump told reporters Monday. ‘If we make the right deal, we’ll do it. Otherwise, we won’t.’
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said the sovereign wealth fund would be created within the next 12 months.
‘I think it’s going to create value and be of great strategic importance,’ Bessent told reporters Monday.
Bessent and Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick are instructed to devise a plan in the next 90 days for the creation of the fund, according to the White House. The proposal will include recommendations on funding mechanisms, investment strategies, fund structure and a governance model.
More details on the sovereign wealth fund were not immediately available, and it’s unclear whether Congress will sign off on it.
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
