Former U.S. President Donald Trump has put forward a controversial plan to address the ongoing crisis in Gaza, proposing to “clean out” the region by relocating over 1 million Palestinians to neighboring countries. During a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump discussed his talks with King Abdullah II of Jordan, where he suggested that the country take in more Palestinians from the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Trump described the current situation in Gaza as dire, calling it a “demolition site” with much of the infrastructure destroyed and countless lives lost. He emphasized that he would rather focus on moving Palestinians to other nations where they could live in peace. “It’s a mess, it’s a real mess,” Trump said, adding that he hoped to help resolve the situation by working with Arab nations in the Middle East to build temporary or long-term housing for those displaced.
“I said to him that I’d love you to take on more, because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now,” Trump shared regarding his conversation with King Abdullah II. The plan would involve shifting a significant portion of Gaza’s population to Jordan and Egypt. Trump also mentioned that he would be speaking to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday to discuss this proposal further.
According to Trump, the plan would help address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by offering Palestinians the opportunity to settle in locations where they could live peacefully, rather than continuing to suffer in a war-torn region. The housing created for Palestinians, Trump noted, could either be temporary or long-term solutions, depending on the circumstances.
In addition to the Gaza relocation plan, Trump confirmed that he had lifted a hold imposed by the Biden administration on the provision of 2,000-pound bombs for Israel. These bombs were reportedly held up for a period, but now Israel will have access to them, as they had already paid for them and been waiting for their delivery. Trump emphasized that the move was in response to Israel’s needs, saying, “They paid for them and they’ve been waiting for them for a long time.”
Trump’s proposals have sparked both support and criticism, with some viewing them as a possible way to alleviate the suffering in Gaza, while others question the practicality and morality of relocating such a large population. Despite the controversy, Trump’s plan to involve Jordan and Egypt in taking in Palestinians highlights the growing international focus on the Gaza situation and the search for viable solutions to the ongoing conflict.