Trump claims that Jordan and Egypt ought to accept Palestinians from Gaza; however, Egypt and Jordan disagree

The Palestinian terrorist organization that controls the enclave, Hamas, rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal that Jordan and Egypt take in Palestinians from war-torn Gaza, and Jordan and Egypt reportedly rejected it as well.

Trump responded on Saturday when asked if this was a short-term or long-term solution for Gaza, where Israel’s military attack has killed tens of thousands of people and created a terrible humanitarian situation: “Could be either.”

Tens of thousands of Palestinians reside in Egypt, while several million already call Jordan home. The proposal of relocating Palestinians from Gaza to their countries is rejected by both countries as well as other Arab states. The Palestinians would like to include Gaza in their future state.

Having advocated for the return of Jewish settlers to Gaza on several occasions, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich hailed Trump’s demand as “an excellent idea” and promised to work on a strategy to put it into action. Smotrich promoted such ideas, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently rejected.

Long-standing Palestinian concerns about being forced to leave their homes forever were echoed by a Hamas leader.

According to Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim, Palestinians “will not accept any offers or solutions, even if (such offers) appear to have good intentions under the guise of reconstruction, as announced in the proposals of U.S. President Trump,” he told Reuters.

Sami Abu Zuhri, another Hamas official, cautioned Trump against adopting the “failed” strategies of Joe Biden, his predecessor.

“The people of Gaza have endured death and refused to leave their homeland, and they will not leave it regardless of any other reasons,” Abu Zuhri stated to Reuters.

Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, told reporters that his country’s position on the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza is “firm and unwavering,” seemingly rejecting Trump’s proposal.

Following suit, Egypt’s foreign ministry declared that it “short term or long term” and firmly opposes the expulsion of Palestinians from their land.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president supported by the West, denounced Trump’s comments. “Our people will remain steadfast and will not leave their homeland,” the official Palestinian news agency WAFA stated in a statement.

Ghassan al-Khatib, a Palestinian expert, stated that Trump’s plan will be rejected by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, as well as by Jordanians and Egyptians: “I don’t think that there is a place in reality for such an idea.”

“It’s a real mess.”

“I told him 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,” Trump told reporters, referring to a Saturday phone conversation with King Abdullah of Jordan. He should take people, in my opinion.

“I’d like Egypt to take people,” he stated, adding that he will talk to Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the president of Egypt, on Sunday.

“You’re talking about a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” Trump stated.

About 2.3 million people lived in the Palestinian enclave before the Israel-Gaza conflict began.

Last year, Washington declared its opposition to Palestinians being forcibly displaced. Concerns about the situation in Gaza, where the conflict has forced almost all of the people to flee and created a starvation catastrophe, have been voiced for months by rights organizations and aid organizations.

Washington has also come under fire for supporting Israel, but it has defended its friend, claiming that it is assisting Israel in defending itself against militant organizations supported by Iran, such as the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza.

“It’s literally a demolition site, almost everything is demolished, and people are dying there, so 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 stated on Saturday.

“Better and New Lives”

Trump’s proposal would create “the opportunity to build new and better lives elsewhere” for Palestinians, according to Smotrich, who claimed that only “out-of-the-box thinking” could bring about peace.

“With God’s help, I will work with the prime minister and cabinet to develop an operational plan to implement this as soon as possible,” he stated.

U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese said on X: “Regardless of how it is presented, ethnic cleansing is not ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking. It is reckless, immoral, and unlawful.

The war has caused internal displacement for the majority of Gaza’s people. Many of them turned down Trump’s proposal on Sunday.

“This is absolutely impossible if he believes that he would violently uproot the Palestinian people. According to Magdy Seidam, the Palestinian people are adamant that this land and soil belong to them.

“No matter how much Israel tries to destroy, break, and to show people that it had won, in reality it did not win.”

According to Israeli estimates, Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel killed around 1,200 people and captured about 250 captives, sparking the ongoing Gaza war.

The Gaza health ministry reports that more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ensuing military attack on Gaza. Currently, a tenuous truce has caused the combat to halt.