Australian news and politics live updates: Trump meets Netanyahu for vital talks, Oscar Jenkins’ fate

The US Senate has confirmed Pam Bondi as the new US attorney general, propelling one of President Donald Trump’s staunchest political allies to the top perch of American law enforcement.

The 54-46 vote to confirm of the former Florida state attorney general will help Trump solidify his control over the US Justice Department, which has recently seen sweeping cuts targeting prosecutors and FBI agents who investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by the president’s supporters.

Democratic Senator John Fetterman joined all 53 Republicans in voting for Bondi.

- AAP

Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour has responded to Donald Trump’s call to move Palestinians out of Gaza.

“Our country and our home is the Gaza Strip. It’s part of Palestine. We have no home.

“For those who want to send them to a happy, nice place, let them go back to their original homes inside Israel. There are nice places there, and they will be happy to return to these places.

“But in the meantime, our homeland is our homeland. If part of it is destroyed - the Gaza Strip - the Palestinian people selected the choice to return to it.

​

​

Hope of further scrutiny of taxpayer-funded, chauffeur-driven car trips has been dashed after NSW Premier Chris Minns dismissed the need for an audit.

It comes after his Transport Minister Jo Haylen fell on her sword on Tuesday after she was revealed to have used her ministerial driver to travel from her holiday home to a winery lunch and to ferry her kids 130km to Saturday sport.

Mr Minns dismissed the merit of a wide-scale audit, instead taking ministers at their word their use of drivers had not been egregious.

“The existing rules that are in place are so liberal that an audit would find that it was all within the rules,” Mr Minns said.

Besides losing a key minister, the Haylen scandal forced the premier to rewrite - in “bright red lines” - rules that allowed the use of ministerial drivers for exclusively private purposes.

Private use is now only permitted if the use is incidental to the discharge of a minister’s official duties.

- AAP

Mr Trump has created waves after proposing a complete shake-up of relations in the Middle East - with the centrepiece the relocation of Palestinians out of Gaza and the US taking over and “owning” it.

His vision is to turn one of the most contested pieces of land into a “Riviera of the Middle East” where Palestians but also poeople from around the world would live.

“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of, the destroyed buildings.”

Trump’s vision for Gaza is for it to become the “Riviera of the Middle East” after the US takes over the area, demolishing buildings and rebuilding.

“I think the entire world, representatives from all over the world, will be (living) there and they will let the Palestinians - Palestinians will live there, many people live there.

“They tried it for decades and decades and decades, it will not work, it did not work, it will never work, and you have to learn from history, history just cannot let it keep repeating itself.

“We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal and I don’t want to be cute, I don’t want to be a wise guy, but the Riviera of the Middle East - this could be something that could be so magnificent.

“More importantly than that is the people that have been absolutely destroyed that live there now (find) peace in a much better situation because they are living in hell and those people will now be able to live in peace.

“We will make sure it is done world-class, it will be for the people.”

Mr Trump’s says his idea to relocate Palestinians and for the US to take over Gaza does not “mean anything about a two state or one state or any other state”.

“It means that we want to have people to have a chance at life, they’ve never had a chance at life because the Gaza Strip has been for people living there, Hamas has made it so bad, so dangerous, unfair to people.

“By doing what I am recommending we do, it is a strong recommendation, that by doing that I think we will bring perhaps a great peace to long beyond this area and I have to stress this is not for Israel, this is for everybody in the Middle East, Arabs, Muslims, for everybody, where they can partake in terms of jobs and living and all the other benefits and I think it is very important, it does not work the other way.

“You can’t keep trying, it has been going along with so many decades, you can’t even count, you can’t keep doing, you have to learn from history, you can’t keep doing the same mistake over and over again.

“Gaza is a hellhole right now, it was before the bombing started, frankly. And we will give people a chance to live in a beautiful community that is safe and secure and I think you’ll see our flowing support. I spoke to other leaders of countries in the Middle East and they love the idea, they said it would (aid) stability and what we need is stability.”

Benajmin Netanyahu says Trump’s shock plan for the US to takeover Gaza is worth pursuing.

“He has a different idea, and I think it is worth paying attention to this,” he said.

“We’re talking about it. He is exploring it with his people, with his staff. I think it is something that could change, it is worthwhile, really pursuing this.

Mr Trump has discussed the US taking over Gaza as a way to bring stability.

“This was not a decision made lightly, everybody I have spoken to love the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent, really magnificent that nobody would know and nobody can look because all they see is death and destruction and rubble and demolished buildings falling all over. A terrible sight.

“I have studied this very closely over a lot of months and I have seen it from every different angle and it is a very dangerous place to be.

“It is only going to get worse. I think it is an idea that has gotten tremendous, I am talking about from the highest level of leadership, gotten tremendous...and if the United States can help to bring stability and peace in the Middle East we will do that.”

Mr Trump says the hostages already released under the Gaza peace deal have returned “damaged in many ways”.

“But they are going to get better and they are going to be strong and they are going to have a good life, and we hope to get as many as possible out, whether or not it holds, I don’t know, we hope that it holds.”

“In Gaza, Israel has three goals. Destroy Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, secure the release of all of our hostages andensure that Gaza never again poses athreat to Israel,” Mr Netanyahu said.

“I believe, Mr President, that your willingness to puncture conventional thinking, thinking that has failed time and time and time again, your willingness to think outside the box with fresh ideas will help us achieve these goals. I’ve seen you do this many times.

“You cut to the chase. You see things others refuse to see, you say things others refuse to say and after the jaws drop, people scratch their heads, and they say, you know, he is right.

“And this is the kind of thinking that enables us to bring the Abraham accords, the kind of thinking that will reshape the Middle East and bring peace.

“We also, we also see eye to eye on Iran. That is the same Iran that tried to kill us both -- the same Iran. They tried to kill you Mr President, they tried through their proxies to kill me - tried.

“We are committed to rolling back Iran’s aggression in the region and ensure that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon.”