Washington: US President Donald Trump has said that Jordan and Egypt should take more Palestinian refugees from Gaza to “clean out” the area, which has been converted into a demolition site due to the Israel-Hamas war.
Trump spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan Saturday and plans to talk with the Egyptian leader.
Trump said that his call with Abdullah II was perfect.
“He’s a friend of mine. I know him very well. I’ve gotten along with him very well over the years. He’s done a wonderful job. He really houses, you know, millions of Palestinians, and he does it in a very humane way. I compliment him on that,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
“I said to him, I’d love you to take on more (Palestinian people from Gaza). I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s a mess. I’d like him to take people. I’d like Egypt to take people,” he said.
Trump said that he was looking to talk to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Sunday.
“I’d like Egypt to take people. I’d like Jordan to take people. You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing. Over the centuries that says many, many conflicts inside. Something has to happen,” Trump said.
“It is a demolition site right now, almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there. 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,” he said.
The president said that the potential housing “could be temporary” or “could be long term.”
An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas has been taking place in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, after the militant group attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.
Since then, Israel’s campaign has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health authorities there. More than 400 Israeli soldiers have also died in Gaza combat.
Meanwhile, Trump also lifted the hold of the previous Biden administration on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel.
“A lot of things that were ordered and paid for by Israel, but have not been sent by Biden, are now on their way!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“We released them today, and they’ll have them. They paid for them. They’ve been waiting for them for a long time. They’ve been in storage for a long time. But we released them today to Israel,” Trump said in response to a question.
Biden froze the delivery in May 2024 in an attempt to prevent Israeli military forces from entering the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
PTI
