German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has described President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the U_S_ could take ownership of the Gaza Strip, relocate its population and redevelop it as a “scandal.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative rival Friedrich Merz faced off in a heated TV debate on Sunday, exactly two weeks before the country heads to the polls. Scholz attacked Merz - whose conservative CDU/CSU alliance is leading in the polls on around 30% ahead of the election on February 23 - over his decision last week to pass a motion on migration reform in parliament with votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Centre-left Mr Scholz and centre-right challenger Friedrich Merz, the front-runner in the February 23 election, discussed top domestic issues such as Germany’s struggling econom

German political leaders have fiercely debated U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticizing Trump’s Gaza proposal as a "scandal." Scholz condemned the suggestion of relocating populations,