President Trump has proposed relocating Palestinians from Gaza to a new homeland, a plan met with strong criticism from US allies and the international community. Jordan, while initially discussing accepting some Palestinian children in need of medical care, ultimately rejected the proposal and emphasized the need to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza without displacing its population.
Earlier in the day, King Abdullah of Jordan told President Trump he could take in 2,000 Palestinian children from Gaza who are very sick or have cancer. But the king later confirmed his longstanding position against displacing millions of Palestinians from their homes. Trump said during their meeting Tuesday that he expected progress toward his plan and believed “99%” that something could be worked out with Egypt, another regional partner that had bristled at the president's surprise.
'We’ll have some others helping,' Trump added. Seated with Trump in the Oval Office, Abdullah said they must ensure a plan that satisfies all parties, a not insignificant obstacle as questions remain about how each country might move to relocate a swell of people who have suffered months of devastation, and which some fear will further undermine efforts to create a Palestinian state. More than 1 million Palestinians remain without homes, and the king declined to say whether he would be willing to take in refugees in larger numbers. 'We have to look at the best interests of the United States, of the people in the region, especially to my people of Jordan,' he said. Questioned further by reporters about Trump’s ideas, the king said he would refrain from saying much until Egypt had a chance to weigh in. His statement following the meeting with Trump made clear that the sides remain far apart. “Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” he said. President Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to a new homeland has faced fierce criticism from U.S.’s Arab partners and from world leaders across the globe who largely favor a two-state solution. However, Trump has not ceded the proposal and continued in the days since to press his ideas to take over and develop the territory after first announcing it last week during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House. In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said that Palestinians in Gaza should be relocated to a new homeland. to return and named Egypt and Jordan as two countries that he expects to take in Palestinians. Trump said it’s a project he wants to start “almost immediately.” He has referred to the territory as a demolition site. On Tuesday, he billed it as a step toward bringing “peace to the Middle East” and said it would become a driver of new jobs in the region. “We’re going to run it very properly,” Trump told reporters and reiterated his ideas for a development plan for the territory that includes hotels and other investments. Seated to the president's left were top advisers and officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, chief of staff Susie Wiles and national security adviser Mike Waltz. “It’s a death trap,” Trump said of Gaza as he mused about the possibilities. He said that it's a place where no one would want to stay, and “they are living in hell.” Asked if he would consider withholding U.S. aid, Trump suggested he had moved on from the idea, telling reporters, “I do think we’re above that.” 'We contribute a lot of money to Jordan and to Egypt, by the way, a lot to both, but I don’t have to threaten that,' Trump said, seeming to walk back the suggestion that he was open to it. A reliable U.S. partner, Abdullah now finds himself weighing a tentative path forward after America’s Arab partners, including Jordan and Egypt, rejected Trump’s proposal last week. On the eve of his meeting with Trump, the U.S. president threatened to cut off aid to Jordan, an annual sum exceeding 1 billion dollars. A senior Jordanian official told NBC News last week there was no way that Jordan could accept more refugees after harboring large refugee populations for decades from Syria and other countries in the region. But Jordan relies heavily on U.S. aid — and additional U.S. spending in Jordan goes to defend U.S. interests supporting Syrian Defense Force allies guarding ISIS prisoners in Syria — and preventing a resurgence of ISIS in Syria.Trump's plan is also a nonstarter with Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman — a key U.S. partner who rejected it within an hour of Trump’s initial comments last week. Jordan, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Monday, would resettle Palestinians from Gaza, as would other surrounding countries, because they have “good hearts.” He said his administration had spoken to Palestinians who “would love to leave Gaza if they could find a place to be,” as well as leaders in the region whom he said were working to find a solution to the devastation caused by more than 15 months of war between Hamas and Israel. “They were very positive about providing land,” Trump said
GAZA PALESTINIANS JORDAN TRUMP INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS MIDDLE EAST PEACE REFUGEES HUMANITARIAN AID
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