US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his proposal to \u201cclean out\u201d Gaza by removing Palestinians living there to Jordan and Egypt, a plan which has appalled some allies but has been quickly embraced by Israel\u2019s far right. <\/p>\n
Having first floated the idea Saturday, Trump warmed to his theme Monday, saying of Gaza\u2019s population: \u201cI\u2019d like to get them living in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence so much.\u201d <\/p>\n
He has not specified whether such emigration would be voluntary. The forcible displacement of civilians \u201ccan constitute a war crime and\/or crime against humanity\u201d depending on the context, according to the United Nations. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think you can get people living in areas that are a lot safer and maybe a lot better and maybe a lot more comfortable,\u201d he said on Monday. <\/p>\n
While there has been no response from the Israeli Prime Minister\u2019s Office, the idea was applauded by far-right Israeli politicians. <\/p>\n
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the Religious Zionism party, said Trump had recognized that Gaza was \u201ca breeding ground for terror,\u201d and \u201cthere is no doubt that in the long run, encouraging migration is the only solution that will bring peace and security to the residents of Israel and alleviate the suffering of Gaza\u2019s Arab residents.\u201d <\/p>\n
Smotrich, who also has a ministerial position in the defense ministry, said he was working on a plan to implement Trump\u2019s vision. \u201cWhen he wants something, it happens,\u201d he said. Smotrich has been advocating for what he calls \u201cthe voluntary emigration of Gaza Arabs to countries around the world\u201d since 2023. <\/p>\n
But the idea of displacement, voluntary or otherwise, is horrifying to Jordan and Egypt and likely alarming to other Arab allies of the US, threatening decades of international consensus about the right of Palestinians to a homeland. Ayman Safadi, Jordan\u2019s foreign minister, said Sunday: \u201cJordan is for Jordanians and Palestine is for Palestinians.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOur rejection for the deportation is steadfast and unchanging.\u201d <\/p>\n
Trump said the removal of Palestinians might be temporary or \u201clong-term,\u201d but Arab critics allege that Palestinians have never been allowed by Israel to return to land once removed. <\/p>\n
Neither Egypt nor Jordan would contemplate being party to a repeat of the Palestinian \u2018Nakba\u2019 or \u2018catastrophe\u2019 in 1948. Roughly 700,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes when the state of Israel was born. A second iteration would be tantamount to condoning and supporting ethnic cleansing. <\/p>\n
Much like Denmark hopes Trump will abandon his ideas for US control of Greenland, the moderate Arab states will be praying that the US President forgets about transferring the Gazans. <\/p>\n
The comparison was not lost on Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who said in an interview with Sky News Tuesday that \u201cPalestine cannot be deleted and Palestinians cannot be expelled. My suggestion: Instead of Palestinians, try to expel Israelis to Greenland. Take them to Greenland so you can kill two birds (with) one stone.\u201d <\/p>\n
Jordan and Egypt seem likely to huddle with their allies in the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in an effort to present a united front. <\/p>\n
So far, the Saudis and Emiratis have remained publicly silent on the Trump plan. King Abdullah II of Jordan has also said nothing about his call with Trump on Saturday. But the Jordanian court pointedly released a read-out of his call Monday with new Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which may have been an effort at damage limitation. <\/p>\n
The statement said they discussed ways to \u201cenhance regional security and stability\u2026and means to strengthen the strategic partnership between Jordan and the United States, as well as keenness to maintain coordination and consultation on various issues.\u201d <\/p>\n
The response from Cairo was more puzzling. A senior Egyptian official denied that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had spoken with Trump, despite the latter\u2019s assertion Monday that they had spoken. Trump declined to say directly if the Egyptian president had an opinion on taking additional Palestinian refugees. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s in a very rough part of the world, to be honest, as they say, it\u2019s a rough neighborhood, but I think he can do it,\u201d Trump said. <\/p>\n
The Egyptian official added that readouts between the Egyptian president and heads of state are released when they take place. The Egyptian Presidency itself has made no comment about any call and the White House hasn\u2019t released a readout. <\/p>\n
Trump also appears to have nodded towards the belief among some Israelis that Gaza isn\u2019t really Palestinian land anyway. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, when you look at the Gaza Strip, it\u2019s been hell for so many years, and it just seems to be this \u2013 various civilizations start here, started thousands of years before,\u201d he said Monday. <\/p>\n
That fits right in with the perspective of people like the former Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, who leads the Jewish Power party. <\/p>\n
After a year of transformative upheaval in the Middle East, even the idea that millions of Palestinians might be moved from their homes is potentially a source of still greater instability. Sisi has previously said that taking in Gazans would threaten Egypt\u2019s peace agreement with Israel because of the risk that some of them would resume fighting the Jewish state from within his country\u2019s borders. <\/p>\n
The risk is existential to Jordan, which has more than a million refugees from neighboring countries as well as about 2.4 million registered Palestinian refugees. Indeed, more than half of its inhabitants are of Palestinian descent, and its demography would be transformed by another influx. But Jordan cannot afford to dismiss Trump\u2019s idea out of hand. A country of few resources, its 2023 budget deficit stood at 5.1% of its economic output, and a fifth of its workforce is unemployed. It is heavily reliant on foreign aid and is the second biggest recipient of US aid in the Middle East after Israel, with more than $1.7 billion delivered in 2023. <\/p>\n
Trump has already moved to put foreign aid and tariffs at the center of a foreign policy whose first tenets have been more stick than carrot. That will not be lost on the Jordanian and Egyptian governments now in the crosshairs. Egypt is the region\u2019s third-biggest recipient of US aid, with $1.5 billion delivered in 2023. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wish he would take some,\u201d Trump said of Sisi on Monday, referring to Gazans. \u201cWe help them a lot, and I\u2019m sure he can help us, he\u2019s a friend of mine.\u201d <\/p>\n
Were Trump to persist with the idea, the prospect of extending the Abraham Accords to include normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia \u2013 a centerpiece of his Middle East policy \u2013 would also be jeopardized. While Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has close personal ties with Trump, he has repeatedly made clear that normalization is linked to a pathway to a Palestinian state. Emptying Gaza would not fit with that priority. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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