US admits Trump 'riviera' remark on Gaza was 'invitation for new ideas'

The new US State Department spokesperson on Thursday effectively admitted that President Donald Trump's remarks last month about turning Gaza into a US-run beach resort were a negotiating tactic aimed at generating "new ideas".

In responding to a question about where Washington stands on the Egyptian proposal for a post-war Gaza - one designed to counter Trump's suggestion - Tammy Bruce told reporters:

"We know that the president, in his comments about a new way forward, et cetera, was an invitation for new ideas, and that seemed to have spurred some new ideas, but we also know that they have not really been seen as being adequate for the nature of what it is that we've been asking for." 

The conversations with Arab partners, she said, "clearly will have to continue".

"No one wins. No one is winning here in this framework. And so regarding the Arab solution, the Arab deal via Egypt, that's what I have for you right now is that it does not meet the expectations," Bruce said.