The former US administration opposed relocating Gaza residents outside the enclave, advocating a return of Palestinians to their homes.
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has proposed relocating Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries like Egypt and Jordan, an unusual proposal that was opposed by the former administration of Joe Biden.
Speaking to reporters ahead of his departure from Los Angeles for 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 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 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 former Biden administration opposed relocating Gaza residents outside the enclave, advocating a return of Palestinians to their homes in the aftermath of a potential peace and a two-state solution. — AA
