US President Trump Proposes 'Cleaning Out' Gaza, Wants Egypt And Jordan To Take Palestinian Refugees
The US President said he had spoken with King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt on Sunday about taking in people from Gaza.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was considering a plan to "just clean out" Gaza by calling on Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab nations to increase the number of Palestinian refugees they were accepting in a bid to create peace.
"I’d 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." Trump said, during the interview with reporters aboard Air Force One, Associated Press reported.
The US President said he had spoken with King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt on Sunday about taking in people from Gaza.
"I’d like Egypt to take people," Trump said. "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.’"
He described Gaza as a "demolition site" as the Strip was reduced to rubbles due to the Israel-Hamas war. "You're talking about probably a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing. You know, over the centuries it's had many, many conflicts that site. And I don't know, something has to happen," he said.
“But it’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there," he added.
Trump also said moving the inhabitants of Gaza could be "temporarily or could be long term. He further said that he complimented Jordan for accepting Palestinian refugees and that he 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."
Meanwhile, there was no immediate comment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over this development.
Trump said he ended his predecessor's hold on sending 2,000 pound bombs to Israel, AP reported. "We released them today," Trump said, adding "They've been waiting for them for a long time."
Biden had halted the delivery of bombs in May last year, in an attempt to keep Israel from launching an offensive on Gaza's Rafah city. Although, a month later, Israel managed to take control of the city, the civilians living there had fled by then, AP reported.
The first phase phase of the ceasefire witnessed release of hostages by Hams in Gaza in return of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Negotiations for the second phase are yet to begin, which would see the release of all the hostages held by Hamas and an end to the fighting.
Amid this, Israel has warned of resuming the war against Hamas if the remaining hostages are not released.
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