TEHRAN- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio kicked off his first visit to West Asia at the weekend amid global anger over President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal for the Gaza Strip. 

The top American diplomat met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem (al-Quds) on Sunday, marking the initial phase of his regional tour, which includes visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Rubio seeks to push Trump’s widely condemned plan to take control of the Gaza Strip and transfer the territory’s 2.3 million population to other countries.

"The president has also been very bold about his view of what the future for Gaza should be. Not the same tired ideas of the past, but something that's bold and something that, frankly, took courage and vision in order to outline. And it may have shocked and surprised many, but what cannot continue is the same cycle we'll repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place," Rubio said during the meeting with Netanyahu. 

Trump floated the idea during a joint press conference alongside the visiting Israeli premier on February 4 in the Ovall Office, saying, “The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too.” 

Londoners march to the US embassy in the British capital to denounce Trump’s controversial proposal for the Gaza StripLater, the US president also said that he is “committed to buying and owning Gaza.” 

During a meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan in the White House on Tuesday, he doubled down on his proposal. “We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it,” he told journalists. 

Trump also responded with a dismissive attitude to a question on whether he would consider purchasing Gaza as part of his takeover plan.

“We’re not going to buy. There’s nothing to buy. We will have Gaza. No reason to buy. It’s Gaza. It’s a war-torn area.”

Trump has stressed that Palestinians in Gaza should leave the territory, which experts say would amount to ethnic cleansing. 

According to the US president, the proposal aims to transform the coastal area into the "Riviera of the Middle East."

The former real estate mogul-turned-president has exerted pressure on regional countries, in particular Jordan and Egypt, to embrace a forced removal. Both Cairo and Amman have dismissed the suggestion.

Some other regional countries, including Saudi Arabia as well as Washington’s Western allies have criticized Trump’s proposal. 

Protests have also emerged worldwide in opposition to this action.

On Saturday, pro-Palestine protesters marched through central London to denounce Trump’s proposal. 

Waving Palestinian flags and holding placards that read “hands off Gaza,” the protesters marched to the US embassy located in Nine Elms, southwest London.

Demonstrators displayed signs that stated, “Stand up to Trump” and “Mr Trump, Canada is not your 51st state. Gaza is not your 52nd”.

Similar protests were held in several cities across the United States.

Protesters in the Turkish cities of Ankara and Istanbul also held rallies to express their resentment against the US president’s plan.  Some other cities across the world saw similar protests.