By Nandita Bose, Kanishka Singh and Nidal al-Mughrabi
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/Cairo (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump stated Jordan and Egypt ought to take extra Palestinians from war-ravaged Gaza, a suggestion rejected by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs the enclave, and apparently rebuffed by the Jordanian overseas minister.
Requested if this was a brief or long-term resolution for Gaza, the place Israel’s navy assault has triggered a dire humanitarian state of affairs and killed tens of hundreds, Trump stated on Saturday: “Might be both.”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has repeatedly referred to as for the return of Jewish settlers to Gaza, welcomed Trump’s name as “a superb thought” and stated he would work to develop a plan to implement it.
However a Hamas official reacted with suspicion, echoing long-standing Palestinian fears about being pushed completely from their properties.
Palestinians “won’t settle for any provides or options, even when (such provides) seem to have good intentions beneath the guise of reconstruction, as introduced within the proposals of U.S. President Trump,” Basem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, instructed Reuters.
One other Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, urged Trump to not repeat “failed” concepts tried by his predecessor Joe Biden.
“The individuals of Gaza have endured dying and refused to go away their homeland and they won’t depart it no matter some other causes,” Abu Zuhri instructed Reuters.
Jordan additionally appeared to reject Trump’s suggestion, with its Overseas Minister Ayman Safadi telling reporters that the nation’s stance in opposition to any displacement of Palestinians from Gaza stays “agency and unwavering”. Egypt has but to remark however has stated on quite a few events that it rejects any displacement of Palestinians.
Palestinian analyst Ghassan al-Khatib stated Palestinians within the occupied West Financial institution and Gaza, in addition to the Jordanians and Egyptians, would reject Trump’s plan: “I do not suppose that there’s a place in actuality for such an thought.”
Washington had stated final yr it opposed the forcible displacement of Palestinians. Rights teams and humanitarian companies have for months raised considerations over the state of affairs in Gaza, with the warfare displacing almost all the inhabitants and resulting in a starvation disaster.
Washington has additionally confronted criticism for backing Israel however has maintained help for its ally, saying it’s serving to Israel defend itself in opposition to Iranian-backed militant teams like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
“I stated to him I might love you to tackle extra as a result of I am wanting on the complete Gaza strip proper now and it is a mess, it is an actual mess. I might like him to take individuals,” Trump, who took workplace on Jan. 20, stated after a name on Saturday with Jordan’s King Abdullah.
“I might like Egypt to take individuals,” Trump instructed reporters, including he would communicate to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.
“You are speaking about 1,000,000 and half individuals, and we simply clear out that complete factor,” Trump stated.
The inhabitants within the Palestinian enclave previous to the beginning of the Israel-Gaza warfare was round 2.3 million.
GAZA IS A ‘DEMOLITION SITE’
“It is actually a demolition website, nearly every part is demolished and individuals are dying there, so I might relatively get entangled with a few of the Arab nations and construct housing at a unique location the place they’ll perhaps dwell in peace for a change,” Trump stated.
Smotrich, who stated solely “out-of-the-box considering” may obtain peace, stated Trump’s plan would give Palestinians “the chance to construct new and higher lives elsewhere”.
“With God’s assist, I’ll work with the prime minister and cupboard to develop an operational plan to implement this as quickly as doable,” he stated.
In a submit on X, Francesca Albanese, the U.N. Particular Rapporteur on human rights within the Occupied Palestinian Territories, stated: “Ethnic cleaning is something however an ‘out-of- the-box’ considering, irrespective of how one packages it. It’s unlawful, immoral and irresponsible.”
Most of Gaza’s million inhabitants, which was 2.3 million earlier than the warfare, have been internally displaced by the warfare. On Sunday, a lot of these rejected Trump’s suggestion.
“If he thinks he’ll forcibly displace the Palestinian individuals (then) that is unattainable, unattainable, unattainable. The Palestinian individuals firmly consider that this land is theirs, this soil is their soil,” stated Magdy Seidam.
“Regardless of how a lot Israel tries to destroy, break, and to indicate those that it had gained, in actuality it didn’t win.”
The most recent bloodshed within the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian battle was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 individuals and taking round 250 hostages, in keeping with Israeli tallies.
Israel’s subsequent navy assault on Gaza has killed greater than 47,000 individuals, in keeping with the Gaza well being ministry. The combating has paused amid a fragile ceasefire.
