Trump says 'Middle East is going to get solved' as he prepares for White House return

WASHINGTON

President-elect Donald Trump pledged to solve the myriad crises plaguing the Middle East on Thursday amid Israel's war against the Gaza Strip, historic developments in Syria and a tenuous cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel.

"I think the Middle East is going to get—as we speak, things are happening very productively on the Middle East. I think the Middle East is going to get solved. I think it's more complicated than the Russia-Ukraine, but I think it's, it’s, it’s easier to solve," Trump told Time magazine.

Asked if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu provided him with assurance that he would wrap up his war against besieged Gaza, Trump demurred, saying "I don’t want to say that, but I think he feels very confident in me."

"I think he knows I want it to end. I want everything to end," he said. "I don't want people from either side killed, and that includes whether it's Russia, Ukraine, or whether it's the Palestinians and the Israelis and all of the, you know, the different entities that we have in the Middle East."

More than 44,800 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its onslaught against the coastal enclave, according to official figures. The UN estimates 70% of the dead have been women and children.

Trump declined to elaborate on what developments in the Middle East he believes are productive, and did not endorse a two-state solution to end the Israel-Palestine conflict, including a controversial plan he put forward during his first term.

"I support whatever solution we can do to get peace. There are other ideas other than two state, but I support whatever, whatever is necessary to get not just peace, a lasting peace," he said.

Asked if he trusts Netanyahu, Trump said, "I don’t trust anybody."