Trump says he wants Jordan and Egypt to receive Palestinians from Gaza
President Trump said he told Jordan’s King Abdullah II during a phone call on Saturday that he would like Jordan and Egypt to take in more Palestinians from Gaza, an idea likely to spark debate over the future of nearly two million Palestinians.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One: “I told him: I would like you to take over more because I look at the entire Gaza Strip right now, and the situation is a mess.” He added that he would also like Egypt to receive more Palestinians and that he would speak with the country’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, on Sunday.
Mr. Trump made the remarks on an evening flight after a rally in Las Vegas. It is unclear whether it indicates a change in US policy towards the Palestinians.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have begun returning to their homes as the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel enters its second week. This is only the second pause in fighting between the two sides since October 7, 2023, when Hamas led an attack on Israel that killed more than 1,200 Israelis. Since then, the Israeli army has killed at least 46,000 Palestinians, destroyed thousands of homes and buildings in Gaza, and killed many Hamas leaders.
Most of Gaza’s two million Palestinians were forced to flee their homes at least once. Although aid has increased in recent days, the humanitarian situation remains dire, with water, food and medicine running low and only a few functioning hospitals.
“You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we’re cleaning this whole thing up,” Trump said of Gaza. “I don’t know. Something has to happen, but it’s effectively a demolition site right now.
Millions of Palestinian refugees live in camps in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and a few other countries in the Middle East. Since the beginning of the war, Egypt has said that it will not receive any more Palestinian refugees, and that any attempt to force Palestinians to enter its lands threatens the agreements it concluded with Israel.