President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One as he travelled from Las Vegas to Miami (AP photo)
US President Trump pushed for increased acceptance of Palestinian refugees from Gaza by Arab nations, including Jordan and Egypt, so that they can “clean out” war-torn area of Gaza.
During a 20-minute question-and-answer session on Saturday with reporters aboard Air Force One, 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’d like him to take people. I’d like Egypt to take people,” said Trump. “You’re 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 mentioned that he complimented Jordan for successfully accepting Palestinian refugees and told the king, “I’d love for you to take on more, cause I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s 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.
“Something has to happen,” Trump said. “But it’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there.” He expressed his preference to involve Arab nations in building housing for Palestinians in a different location, where they could “maybe live in peace for a change.”
Ever since his White House return on Monday, Trump has been politically active in making decisions with regards to the Israel-Gaza war. On Day 1, Trump immediately issued multiple executive orders and expressed his opinions on various matters, including the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. “The hostages are starting to come back. Oh, if I. If I weren’t here, they wouldn’t be back ever. They would have never come back. They would have all died. If this were done a year earlier, if Biden would have done this deal a year and a half, two years ago, or frankly, it should have never happened,” he said.
Trump also cancelled an executive directive previously established by Joe Biden, which had permitted sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Biden’s February 2024 order had enabled the identification of several settlers and organisations accused of perpetrating violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territory, under occupation since 1967.
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.
Then-President Biden had initially suspended the delivery of these heavy bombs in May, aiming to prevent Israel from conducting a full-scale military operation in Rafah, a southern Gaza city. However, Israel did gain control of Rafah a month later, after most of its one million residents and displaced persons had evacuated the area.
The earlier suspension by Biden had also affected a shipment of 1,700 500-pound bombs destined for Israel. However, these smaller munitions were eventually delivered several weeks after the initial hold.