Trump claims he visited Gaza — but there’s no evidence he did
Al Jazeera
It is unclear whether Trump’s comments were a deliberate lie or simply revealed his lack of knowledge of the region.
Former President Donald Trump claimed in a radio interview that he has been to Gaza even though no record of such a visit exists.
The comment, which Trump made in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that was broadcast on Monday, came in response to a question about whether the occupied territory, which Israel has largely razed to the ground over the last year, could be developed to “be Monaco, if it was rebuilt the right way?”
“It could be better than Monaco. It has the best location in the Middle East, the best water, the best everything,” Trump responded. “I’ve been there, and it’s rough. It’s a rough place, before the, you know, before all of the attacks and before the back and forth what’s happened over the last couple of years.”
Asked to clarify, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign told the New York Times that “Gaza is in Israel. President Trump has been to Israel.”
Gaza is not, nor has it ever been “in Israel.” The Palestinian territory has been illegally occupied by Israel, as well as the West Bank and East Jerusalem, since 1967.
