IS TRUMP SERIOUS?

DONALD Trump was accused of promoting ethnic cleansing with his plan to evict Palestinians from Gaza and take control of the strip.

- ASHLEY COWBURN

The US President sparked global outrage after declaring he wanted to turn the war-torn area into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

He initially said "people of the world" could settle in Gaza after Palestinians were moved elsewhere in the region. US officials later stressed the move would only be temporary.

The White House refused to rule out using US troops in the operation. First Minister John Swinney said: "What he said amounts to ethnic cleansing. It's about the forced repatriation of the Palestinian people." UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric added: "Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing."

Keir Starmer did not criticise Trump directly but dismissed his idea, marking the PM's strongest intervention on comments from the US President since Trump's election victory in November.

He said: "I have from the last few weeks two images fixed in my mind. The first is [BritishIsraeli hostage] Emily Damari reunited with her mother. The second was thousands of Palestinians walking through the rubble to try to find their homes and their communities in Gaza.

"They must be allowed home. They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them on the way to a two-state solution."