CrossFireArabia
US President Donald Trump, Saturday, proposed relocating Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries like Egypt and Jordan. This is an unusual proposal that was opposed by the former administration of Joe Biden.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One towards Miami, the president said he raised the matter during a telephone call with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and he might talk with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.
“I said to him (Jordan’s king) that 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,” said Trump. “I’d like him (Jordan’s king) to take people”.
“I’d like Egypt to take people. I’m talking to Gen. Al Sisi tomorrow sometime I believe. I’d like Egypt to take people. And I’d like Jordan to take people,” Trump continued.
“You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing. You know over the centuries it’s had many, many conflicts. And I don’t know, something has to happen,” he added.
Describing Gaza as “a demolition site,” the US president said: “Almost everything is demolished and people are dying there. So l’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.”
He added that the move “could be temporary or could be long-term.”
The Biden administration opposed relocating Gaza residents outside the enclave, advocating a return of Gazans to their homes in the aftermath of a potential peace and a two-state solution.
Israel’s genocidal war has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured over 111,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.
Since Jan. 19, a ceasefire is in place to bring respite to civilians in the Palestinian enclave, but Trump said last week he is not confident that the truce will hold.
“It’s not our war. It’s their war. I think they are very weakened on the other side,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I looked at a picture of Gaza. Gaza is like a massive demolition site. That place is. … It’s really got to be rebuilt in a different way,” he said.
“Gaza is interesting. It’s a phenomenal location on the sea, best weather, you know, everything’s good. It’s like some beautiful things could be done with it, but it’s very interesting, but some fantastic things could be done with Gaza,” Trump added according to Anadolu.
