United States President Donald Trump has unveiled a plan to "cleanse" Gaza and added that he wants Egypt and Jordan to shelter Palestinians from the territories, in an effort to achieve peace in the Middle East.
“We’re talking about a million and a half people, and we’re going to clean it all up,” Trump told reporters, describing Gaza as a “destruction site” and stating that the move could be “temporary or long-term.”
“A lot of things that were ordered and paid for by Israel, but not shipped by the Biden administration, are now arriving!” Donald Trump wrote on his platform, Truth.
Some media outlets report that the president has ordered the Pentagon to lift the blockade imposed by the Biden administration on the supply of 2,000-pound (about 900 kg) bombs to Israel.
Trump is filling the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with officials who previously worked as lawyers and lobbyists for the oil and chemical industries, many of whom during his first administration worked to weaken climate and pollution protections, the New York Times writes.
Lee Zeldin, the president's pick to run the EPA, has little experience in environmental policy.
“He is expected to immediately begin work to implement Trump's numerous orders to cut regulatory acts,” the NYT writes.
Among the leading candidates for EPA are David Fotouhi, who will be Zeldin's replacement and has recently opposed the asbestos ban; Alex Dominguez, a former oil industry lobbyist who will work on car emissions; and Aaron Szabo, a lobbyist for both the oil and chemical industries, who is expected to be the top air pollution regulator.
The EPA office that evaluates the safety of new chemicals now includes Nancy Beck, a longtime lobbyist for the chemical industry, and Lynn Ann Dekleva, who worked for the American Chemistry Council, a trade group. Both have experience from Trump's first term.