US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Jordan and Egypt should take in more Palestinians from Gaza has sparked fears that they are being forced out of the coastal enclave, with Arab nations concerned about the destabilizing effects of such an exodus.
Both Hamas and Palestinian political leaders have strongly rejected Trump’s proposal to “clean out” Gaza, which has received support from Israeli officials.
Trump referred to Gaza as a “demolition site” during a discussion aboard Air Force One, where he revealed that he had spoken with Jordan’s King Abdullah II about relocating Palestinians. “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” he said, referring to Gaza’s population of approximately 2.4 million. He suggested that relocating people could be a temporary or long-term measure, adding that “maybe they can live in peace for a change” if they were moved to new housing built in other Arab nations.
“I’d like Egypt to take people. And I’d like Jordan to take people,” Trump stated, noting plans to speak with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi about the proposal.
For Palestinians, any attempt to displace them from Gaza evokes painful memories of the Nakba — the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their land during the establishment of Israel.
Egypt has previously warned against any “forced displacement” of Palestinians into the Sinai Peninsula, a move that Egyptian President Sisi said could undermine the peace treaty Egypt signed with Israel in 1979. Jordan, already home to 2.3 million registered Palestinian refugees, has firmly opposed any such relocation, with Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi asserting the country’s “unwavering” rejection of displacing Palestinians.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned any “projects” to relocate Gaza’s population, while Hamas official Bassem Naim said that Palestinians would “foil such projects,” recalling their longstanding resistance to attempts at forced displacement and the creation of “alternative homelands.”
Meanwhile, on Sunday, tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians were blocked from returning to northern Gaza at the Israeli military barrier of the Netzarim corridor. Cars and carts filled with belongings lined up at the checkpoint as people waited to re-enter the north. Gaza’s media office director, Ismail al-Thawabtah, estimated that between 615,000 and 650,000 Palestinians were waiting to cross. Israel has announced it would block their movement until the release of an Israeli prisoner, Arbel Yehud, whom Netanyahu’s office said was expected to be freed on Saturday.
