U.S. President Donald Trump and King Abdullah II pose on the colonnade of the White House on June 25, 2018. Trump said Saturday he spoke with the the king about taking in Palestinians. File photo by Olivier Douliery/UPI |
License Photo
Jan. 26 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said he wants to "clean out" the Gaza Strip, and have Egypt and Jordan to take in millions of displaced Palestinians.
During a phone call with Jordan's King Abdullah, Trump said Saturday: "I'd love you to take on more, because I'm looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it's a mess, it's a real mess."
He said he planned to speak to Egypt's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday about the situation. In October, Egypt'sal-Sisi said he rejected any forced displacement of Palestinians into the Sinai peninsula, and instead wants an independent state for Palestinians.
Egypt hadn't responded to the idea but Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi wrote Sunday on X in Arabic: "Our rejection of displacement is firm and unchangeable. This is not only a firm and steadfast position from which the Kingdom cannot deviate, but it is also a necessity in order to achieve the security, stability and peace that we all want."
He added: "Jordan is for Jordanians, and Palestine is for Palestinians."
Jordan, which favors a two-state solution of Israel and Palestine, already has more than 2.39 million registered Palestinian refugees, according to the UN. The Gaza Strip, which is 139 square miles and bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
Trump made his remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One flying from Las Vegas to Miami.
The White House made no mention of Gaza in a readout with Jordan's king that included: "President Trump thanked King Abdullah for his longtime friendship, and the two leaders discussed the importance of regional peace, security, and stability.
The president said the relocation "could be temporary" or "could be long-term."
He didn't name other nations but Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia border Israel.
Most of Gaza's two million residents have been displaced since Israel's war with Hamas 15 months ago. Some have fled to Egypt.
"I'd rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change," Trump told reporters.
"You're talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, 'You know, it's over.'"
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hasn't commented on Trump's suggestion.
Former Israeli national security minister ItamarBen-Gvir congratulated Trump in a post on X.
"One of our demands from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to encourage voluntary immigration, and when the president of the world's largest power, Trump, himself raises the idea, it would be wise for the Israeli government to implement it - encourage immigration now!," the far right Ben-Gvir wrote on X in Hebrew.
And Finance Minister Smotrich said finding new homes for Gaza residents was "wonderful." He told Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 on Sunday that "only out-of-the-box thinking and new solutions will bring peace and security."
Hamas opposes the plan.
"The people of Gaza had endured death in order not to leave the homeland and will not leave it for any other reasons," Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas spokesperson, said,
"Implementing the agreement is sufficient to solve the problems of the Gaza Strip."
Abu Yahya Rashid, a man displaced in the southern city of Khan Younis, told the BBC:
"We are the ones who decide our fate and what we want. This land is ours and the property of our ancestors throughout history. We will not leave it except as corpses."
Shipments of bombs to Israel to resume
Also Saturday, Trump confirmed he had instructed the U.S. military to resume shipments of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, which were paused under President Joe Biden because of concerns about civilian casualties.
"A lot of things that were ordered and paid for by Israel, but have not been sent by Biden, are now on their way!" Trump posted on Truth Social.
Netanyahu said in a video message posted Sunday on X: "Thank you President Trump for keeping your promise to give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself, to confront our common enemies and to secure a future of peace and prosperity."
On Oct. 7, 2023, Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Israel launched an air and land assault on Gaza, killing more than 47,000 people, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry officials.
Israel had paused the movement of Palestinians in northern Gaza after the government accused Hamas of breaching a cease-fire agreement. But early Monday in the Middle East, Israel said it will allow the passage after receiving a list of the held hostages.