Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion | Global News Avenue

Doral, Florida— President Trump’s push for Egypt and Jordan to accept large numbers of Palestinian refugees from besieged Gaza has faced opposition from both governments, leaving a key congressional ally in Washington confused on Sunday.

Fighting broke out in the region after ruling Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023. Suspended due to fragile ceasefirebut most Gaza residents have been left homeless by Israeli military operations. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday that evacuating some 1.5 million people from Gaza could mean “we just have to clear the entire area.”

Mr Trump relayed what he said to Jordan’s King Abdullah during a phone call earlier on Saturday: “I said to him, ‘I want you to take on more responsibility, Because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess.'”

He said Trump asked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in a conversation Sunday while they were at the Doral resort in Florida. issued a similar appeal. Trump said he “wants Egypt to take people out, I want Jordan to take people out.”

Hamas, Egypt and Jordan reject Trump’s Gaza proposal

hundreds of thousands of displaced people Israeli troops allow Palestinians to start returning on Monday The drive to towns and villages in the devastated northern half of Gaza triggered mass migration that was seen as a strong repudiation of any notion of mass expulsions from Gaza.

Abdul Latif Kanu, a spokesman for Hamas, the U.S.- and Israeli-designated terror group that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, said in a statement posted online on Monday that scenes of large numbers of people returning to the north “represent Another situation.” The occupation failed to achieve the goals of annihilation and destruction of the war and conveyed contempt for any new attempts to supplant those goals. “

“The steadfastness of our people in their own land and their return from the southern Gaza Strip to the north represents the end of the Zionist dream of expelling them and annihilating their just cause,” Kanu said.

Egypt and Jordan, as well as the Palestinians, fear that Israel will never allow Palestinians to return to Gaza if they are forced to leave. Egypt and Jordan also have long-suffering economies, and their governments, as well as those of other Arab states, fear that such an influx of refugees could lead to massive instability in their countries and the region.

Jordan already hosts more than 2 million Palestinian refugees. Egypt has warned of the security implications of moving large numbers of Palestinians to Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, which borders Gaza.

Trump said resettling most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people could be temporary or long-term.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Sunday that his country was “firm and unwavering” in its opposition to Trump’s proposal.

Some Israeli officials floated the idea early in the war.

Egypt’s foreign minister issued a statement saying temporary or long-term transfers of Palestinians “risk expanding the conflict in the region.”

In a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated “Egypt’s commitment to the principles and parameters of a political solution to the Palestinian issue, stressing that this remains a core issue in the Middle East. Delays in resolving the issue, ending the occupation and returning stolen assets” The issue of the rights of the Palestinian people is a regional issue A source of instability.

“In this regard, Egypt reaffirms its continued support for the steadfast position of the Palestinian people in their land and their observance of their legitimate rights in their land and homeland, as well as the principles of international law and international humanitarian law. Egypt also stresses its opposition to any action against these unjust Violations of disenfranchisement, whether through settlement activity, annexation of land, displacement of legitimate owners, or encouragement of the removal or uprooting of Palestinians from their land, whether temporarily or permanently.”

Trump does have some leverage over Jordan, a heavily indebted but strategically important U.S. ally that relies heavily on foreign aid. The United States has historically been the largest single provider of aid, including more than $1.6 billion through 2023 through the State Department. Much of this comes from support for Jordanian security forces and direct budgetary support.

In return, Jordan has been an important regional partner in U.S. efforts to help maintain stability in the region. There are approximately 3,000 U.S. troops stationed in Jordan. However, on Friday, new Secretary of State Marco Rubio waived security aid to Israel and Egypt, but not Jordan, as he laid out the details of a deal. Freeze on foreign aid ordered by Trump on his first day in office.

European officials react to Trump’s suggestion

The German government also rejected the idea of ​​mass Palestinian displacement on Monday, with a foreign ministry spokesman telling reporters in Berlin that Germany agreed “with the EU, our Arab partners, the United Nations… that the Palestinian people must not be expelled from Gaza, nor must Gaza be permanently occupied by Israel” Occupy or recolonize.”

In Italy, right-wing prime minister Georgia MeloniShe, who attended Trump’s inauguration and sought to position herself as an interlocutor between the new U.S. administration and Europe, sought to downplay the president’s proposals for Gaza.

“Trump was right when he said that the rebuilding of Gaza is obviously one of the main challenges we face, but that to be successful it will require strong engagement from the international community,” she told reporters during a visit to Saudi Arabia. “As for the refugee issue, I don’t think we’re faced with (Mr. Trump’s) clear plan again. I think we’re faced with discussions with regional actors, and they certainly need to be involved in that.”

“These are of course very complex issues, but the fact that there are even informal discussions with actors from the region, I think means that we want to seriously address the reconstruction of Gaza,” the Italian leader said.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said

Meanwhile, in the United States, even some Republicans loyal to Trump are trying to make sense of his words.

“I really don’t know,” Senator Lindsey Graham sayswhen asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” what the president meant by his “clean up” remarks. Graham, who is close to Trump, said the suggestion was not feasible.

“The idea that all Palestinians are going to leave and go somewhere else, I don’t think is very practical,” said Graham, the senior Republican senator from South Carolina. He said Trump should continue talking to Middle Eastern leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and officials from the United Arab Emirates.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about. But go talk to MBS, go talk to the UAE, go talk to Egypt,” Graham said. “What are their plans for the Palestinians? Do they want them all to leave?”

Trump gives up on seizing 2,000 pounds of bombs destined for Israel

Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, also announced on Saturday that he had directed the United States to provide Israel with 2,000 pounds of bombs. former president joe biden Specific weapons impounded because of worry about them Impact on civilians in Gaza.

Egypt and Jordan have made peace with Israel but support the establishment of a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territory Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war. They fear the permanent displacement of Gaza’s people could lead to Make the so-called “two-state solution” impossible.

In the Middle East, Trump is also seen as less supportive of an eventual two-state solution than previous U.S. administrations, while the current Israeli government has all but ruled out the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

In laying out his rationale for such a large-scale population transfer, Trump said that Gaza “is now essentially a demolition site.”

“I would rather work with some Arab countries and build housing in different locations,” he said of Gaza’s displaced people. “They might be able to live in peace and seek change.”