Washington DC:
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) doubled down on his threat of the United States “owning” the Gaza Strip by displacing the 2.2 million Palestinians living in the enclave to neighbouring countries as he met Jordan King Abdullah II– now of America’s closest Middle East allies.
“We’re going to have Gaza. We don’t have to buy. There’s nothing to buy. We will have Gaza…We’re going to take it, we’re going to hold it, we’re going to cherish it,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office as he met the Jordanian King.
But Trump, who made his fortune as a real estate tycoon did however deny that he would seek to personally develop property in Gaza. “No. I’ve had a great career in real estate,” he said.
Trump, who had earlier said his plan to “take over Gaza” would not include a right of return for displaced Palestinians, now said the redeveloped land will be for people in the Middle East.
“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. It’s going to be for the people in the Middle East,” he said.
He added that Palestinians living in Gaza would be happy to leave because they are currently “living a terrible life” after more than a year of war following the October 7 terror attacks on Israel by Hamas.
“Look at the way they’re living now. Nobody’s nobody’s living like that in the entire world. They’re living under buildings that are mostly fallen down and will continue to fall down, and they’re living under people are being killed every day. The conditions are horrible. There are no conditions anywhere in the world that are worse than the Gaza Strip,” he said.
The US leader stunned the world when he announced a proposal last week for the United States to “take over” Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” — but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them ever to return.
Pushback
The American President’s plan to “own” Gaza and place it under “US authority” faced pushback from the visiting Abdullah II, who informed that Egypt was working on a plan for how countries in the region could “work” with Trump on his shock proposal.
“I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” Abdullah said on social media after the talks.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that neighbouring countries such as Jordan and Egypt could absorb Gaza’s population. “We will be in Saudi Arabia to discuss how we can work with the President and with the United States. So I think let’s wait until the Egyptians can come and present it to the President and not get ahead of us,” Abdullah said.
The Jordanian monarch also appeared to offer a sweetener to Trump, who the day before the visit floated the possibility of halting US aid to Jordan if it did not take in refugees.
“One of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state. That is possible,” Abdullah said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.
Trump replied that it was “really a beautiful gesture” and said he didn’t know about it before the Jordanian monarch’s arrival at the White House.
The American President also retreated from his previous talk of an aid halt to Jordan and Egypt, saying: “I don’t have to threaten that. I do believe we’re above that.”
The Egyptian foreign ministry later said it plans to “present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction” of the Gaza Strip that ensures Palestinians remain on their land.
It said Egypt “hopes to cooperate” with Trump’s administration on the matter, with the goal of “reaching a fair settlement of the Palestinian cause”.
Future Of Gaza Truce
Meanwhile, Israel has threatened to resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if hostages were not released this weekend, while Hamas insisted it remained committed to the ceasefire deal and accused Israel of violations.
Under the terms of the truce, which has largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, captives were to be released in batches in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. So far, Israel and Hamas have completed five hostage-prisoner swaps. But the deal has come under increasing strain in recent days, prompting diplomatic efforts to salvage it and Hamas to say it was “committed to the ceasefire”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF (Israeli military) will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated”.
His threat echoed that of US President Donald Trump who said on Monday that “hell” would break loose if Hamas failed to release “all” Israeli hostages by Saturday.