Donald Trump’s Riviera proposal has put the Middle East on edge once again

‘Interesting’, ‘new idea’, ‘revolutionary’. This was the response of the Israeli political establishment to the proposed ethnic cleansing of 2m Palestinians

President Donald Trump (right) meeting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) in the Oval Office of the White House last week. Netanyahu himself has called Trump’s proposal 'revolutionary' and 'creative'. Photo: AP/Evan Vucci

After an initial 12 hours of deafening silence, the Israeli political establishment finally voiced their opinion on US president Donald Trump's proposal for the forced transfer of two million Palestinians from Gaza.

President Isaac Herzog, once the leader of the centre left Labor Party, described the potential war crime as simply a "new idea". He was later quoted in the Times of Israel newspaper calling for Israel’s neighbours to present their own suggestions “if you have any better idea[s].”