WASHINGTON, Jan 26 — United States (US) President Donald Trump has proposed relocating Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries like Egypt and Jordan — an unusual proposal that was opposed by the former administration of Joe Biden, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
Speaking to the press ahead of his departure from Los Angeles for Miami on Saturday, the president said he raised the matter during a telephone call with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and he might speak with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.
"I said to him (Jordan's king) that I would love you to take on more because I am looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it is a mess, it is a real mess.
"I would like him (Jordan's king) to take people. I would like Egypt to take people. I am talking to Gen. Al Sisi tomorrow I believe. I would like Egypt and Jordan to take people," said Trump.
"You are talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing. You know over the centuries it has had many, many conflicts. And I do not know, something has to happen," he added.
Describing Gaza as "a demolition site", the US president said: "Almost everything is demolished and people are dying there. So I would rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change."
He claimed that the move "could be temporary or could be long-term".
The Biden administration opposed relocating Gaza residents outside the enclave, advocating a return of Gazans to their homes in the aftermath of a potential peace and a two-state solution.
Israel's genocidal war has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured over 111,000 since October 7, 2023.
— Bernama
