Donald Trump has pressed Jordan’s King Abdullah to take in Palestinians who would be permanently displaced under the US president’s idea for the US to take over the Gaza Strip – even as the king said his country was firmly opposed to the move.
Speaking alongside the Arab country’s ruler in the White House, Trump signaled he would not budge on his idea that involves moving the Gaza Strip’s shell-shocked residents and transforming the war-ravaged territory into what he billed a “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Trump has infuriated the Arab world by saying that Palestinians would not be able to return to their homes under his proposal to redevelop the enclave, which has been devastated by an Israeli offensive.
The arbitrary and permanent forcible transfer of populations is considered a crime under the Geneva conventions.
“We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it, we’re going to cherish it. We’re going to get it going eventually, where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East,” Trump said in the Oval Office, saying his plan would “bring peace” to the region.
King Abdullah said later that he had reiterated Jordan’s “steadfast position” against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as in the occupied West Bank that borders his country.
“This is the unified Arab position,” he said in a post on Twitter/X. “Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all.“
Despite the views of his Jordanian counterpart, Trump said Jordan, as well as Egypt, would ultimately agree to house displaced residents of Gaza. Both countries rely on Washington for economic and military aid.
“I believe we’ll have a parcel of land in Jordan. I believe we’ll have a parcel of land in Egypt,” said Trump. “We may have someplace else, but I think when we finish our talks, we’ll have a place where they’re going to live very happily and very safely.“
Trump, who has suggested he could consider withholding aid to Jordan, said he was not using support as a threat.
“We contribute a lot of money to Jordan, and to Egypt by the way – a lot to both. But I don’t have to threaten that. I think we’re above that,” Trump said.
King Abdullah has previously said he rejects any moves to annex land and displace Palestinians. He is the first Arab leader to meet Trump since the Gaza plan was floated.
While the two leaders were cordial with each other, Trump’s comments about Gaza put King Abdullah in an awkward position, given the sensitivity in Jordan of the Palestinians’ claim of a right to return to the lands that many fled during the war that surrounded the creation of Israel in 1948.
Trump at one point appeared to prompt King Abdullah to say he would take in Palestinians from Gaza. The king said he would do what is best for his country, but said Jordan would take in 2,000 sick children from Gaza for treatment, an offer that Trump praised.
“The point is how to make this work in a way that is good for everybody,” he said, appearing uncomfortable, without explicitly supporting or opposing Trump’s plan.
Late on Tuesday, Egypt’s foreign ministry said it planned to “present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction” of the Gaza Strip that ensures Palestinians remain on their land.
Egypt “hopes to cooperate” with Trump’s administration on the matter, with the goal of “reaching a fair settlement of the Palestinian cause”, the ministry said.
It said its plan would provide for the reconstruction of Gaza “in a clear and decisive manner that ensures the Palestinian people stay on their land, and in line with the legitimate and legal rights of this people”.
Jordan is already home to more than 2 million Palestinian refugees in its population of 11 million, their status and number long providing a source of anxiety for the country’s leadership.
English (US)