President Trump insisted Tuesday that the US has the authority to “take” Gaza and that different international locations within the area will take up the Palestinians who presently reside there, talking as he sat beside Jordan’s king within the Oval Workplace.
“We can have Gaza,” Mr. Trump stated. “It’s a war-torn space. We’re going to take it. We’re going to carry it. We’re going to cherish it.”
The remarks — made at an impromptu gaggle with reporters known as in abruptly initially of the bilateral assembly between the 2 leaders — represented a brand new type of stress on King Abdullah II, who sought to reward Mr. Trump as a drive for peace within the area whereas avoiding touch upon a barely fashioned proposal that the president has repeatedly floated prior to now week.
Their assembly, together with Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein, got here every week after Mr. Trump declared that he needed the U.S. to grab management of Gaza and needed Jordan and Egypt to resettle the roughly two million Palestinians who can be displaced.
Each Jordan and Egypt rejected the thought when Mr. Trump raised it final week at a information convention with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, However on Tuesday, King Abdullah largely demurred when requested by reporters in regards to the prospect of forcibly displacing Gazans to permit the US to take over the territory.
Slightly than push again on Mr. Trump’s proposal, King Abdullah stated the 2 nations ought to seek the advice of with different Arab nations, together with Egypt.
“I believe the purpose is, how will we make this work in a manner that’s good for everyone,” King Abdullah stated. “Clearly we now have to take a look at the very best pursuits of the US, of the individuals within the area, particularly to my individuals of Jordan.”
The assembly with King Abdullah amounted to not solely a pivotal second for a key ally within the Center East however extra broadly for the way forward for Gaza and the roughly two million Palestinians who name it house.
Mr. Trump in current days has dug in on his inconceivable proposal to completely resettle most Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt, whereas the US can be handed management of the territory by Israel after which redevelop it right into a hub for jobs and tourism.
Officers in each Jordan and Egypt have rejected the compelled displacement of Gazans, which students have stated would quantity to a violation of worldwide legislation and ethnic cleaning. Mr. Trump, nonetheless, ramped up stress on Egypt and Jordan on the eve of King Abdullah’s go to when he stated he may reduce assist to Jordan except it took in Palestinians.
Mr. Trump has privately been speaking in regards to the notion of the US taking management of Gaza for a number of weeks, in keeping with a number of individuals who have spoken with him.
King Abdullah now faces the tough process of making an attempt to guard the greater than $1.5 billion in overseas assist Jordan receives from the US whereas additionally making an attempt to get Mr. Trump to again off his calls for for the mass removing of Palestinians.
Greater than half of King Abdullah’s 12 million topics are of Palestinian descent. Jordan is already house to roughly 700,000 refugees, most of them Syrians who fled from that nation’s civil struggle. The monarchy is anxious that accepting an inflow of one other roughly two million refugees may inflame tensions between residents of Palestinian descent and those that are usually not, analysts say.
Mr. Abdullah may attempt to persuade Mr. Trump that his hope to maneuver Palestinians out of Gaza would complicate his administration’s broader efforts to get Saudi Arabia to affix Mr. Trump’s 2020 Abraham Accords, which established formal ties between Israel and 4 Arab international locations.
The delicate cease-fire truce between Hamas and Israel additionally hung over the assembly after the militant group threatened to delay the discharge of some hostages on Saturday if Israel didn’t ship extra assist to Gaza. Hamas has accused Israel of breaking a promise of sending a whole lot of hundreds of tents into Gaza, a declare that three Israeli officers and two mediators stated have been correct. Mr. Trump responded by threatening “all hell” if Hamas didn’t launch each hostage