On Saturday, President Donald Trump said that he would like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip potentially moving out enough of the population to just clean out the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate.
Trump revealed that he discussed this vision with King Abdullah II of Jordan earlier in the day and plans to speak with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Sunday. “I would like him to take people. I would like Egypt to take people,” said Trump. “You are talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say You know it’s over.
Trump during a 20 minutes session mentioned that he complimented Jordan for successfully accepting Palestinian refugees and told the king, “I would love for you to take on more, cause I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it is a mess. It’s a real mess.”
He added that such a mass movement of Palestinians could be temporary or long term noting that the area encompassing Gaza has experienced many, many conflicts over centuries. Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Trump lifted the restriction on delivering 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, which was previously imposed to minimise civilian casualties during Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza, currently under a fragile ceasefire.
He concluded by saying that, “Something has to happen. But it is literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything is demolished, and people are dying there. So, I would rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change.”
