US President Donald Trump proposed on Saturday displacing Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring Egypt and Jordan, describing the situation in the enclave as a “real mess,” Al Jazeera reported.
Speaking aboard the presidential plane Air Force One, Trump disclosed ongoing discussions with regional leaders about the humanitarian and political crisis in Palestine.
“I would like Egypt to take people,” Trump said, estimating the displacement of up to 1.5 million people. “We just clean out that whole thing and say: ‘You know, it’s over.’”
He mentioned an earlier conversation with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and said he planned to speak with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday.
Trump commended Jordan for its history of accepting Palestinian refugees, urging the kingdom to take in more. “I told King Abdullah, ‘I would love for you to take on more, ‘cause I am looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s a mess. It’s a real mess,’” he stated.
The situation in Gaza remains dire, with reports of near-total destruction and widespread displacement. Israel’s war on Gaza has forced nearly all 2.3 million Gaza residents to flee their homes, some of them multiple times.
Trump described Gaza as “literally a demolition site” adding that “almost everything is demolished, and people are dying there.”
Trump floated the idea of resettling displaced Gazans in other locations, possibly for the long term. “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,” he said.