President Trump and Jordan’s King Abdullah II were answering questions from reporters on Tuesday, sitting on chairs side by side in the White House. Trump was saying most of the words, sitting next to the king with a pale face.
Trump said, “Gaza will be ours.” The area was completely destroyed. We will take control of this area, we will hold it, we will take great care. ’
When asked by what right Trump would take over Gaza, he said, “America’s own right.” It is difficult to understand how America has its own rights or “authority” in Gaza. Trump has already answered where the 2.5 million Palestinians in Gaza will go. They will go to Jordan and Egypt and, if necessary, to other Arab countries. Wherever they go, they will leave permanently. It will provide excellent accommodation for them. It will be such a wonderful arrangement that there will be no need for them to come back.
Is Trump thinking about it, or is he “deceiving” everyone?
King Abdullah II did not say anything harsh to Trump’s face. He later told reporters that Jordan could not accept new Palestinian refugees. They have a plan to rebuild Gaza while keeping it in their homeland.
Israel has long advocated pushing Palestinians into Jordan. After the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948 and 1967, a large number of Palestinian refugees came to the country. They now make up more than half of Jordan’s population. Politically, they are so powerful that they can form a government only with Palestinian support. King Abdullah II does not want any new Palestinian refugees in his country for the sake of his own existence. In 2023, he said pushing Palestinians from Gaza into Jordan would not be acceptable. “This is a real red line for us,” he said. The influential Middle East Eye newspaper said Jordan was ready to go to war if necessary on this issue.
Jordan has long depended on U.S. economic and military aid. Currently, the country receives $1.5 billion in economic and military aid annually from the United States. It is almost impossible for an economically weak country to survive without this US aid. The United States provides almost the same amount of aid to Egypt. With that in mind, Trump threatened two days ago that aid would be stopped if he did not accept the Palestinians in Gaza. On Tuesday, however, he shook his head and said, “No, it won’t happen.” He said: “It’s not in our nature to do that. ’
According to most responsible quarters, it is impossible to evacuate Gaza’s 2.5 million people. That attempt will be ‘ethnic cleansing’ or ethnic cleansing. The UN chief said it would be a violation of all international law.
As ridiculous as it may be, it is not easy to ignore the President of the United States. Everyone is now waiting to hear what Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Mohammed has to say about Trump’s proposal. Although Salman himself did not say anything in his mouth, the government of that country rejected Trump’s proposal. Yousef bin al-Saadun, a member of the Saudi shura, joked that Trump could send all Israelis to Alaska or China’s Greenland if he wanted to. That would be the best solution.
Except for two or four Republican leaders inside the Trump administration and loyal, no one supported Trump’s proposal to take over Gaza. There is no proposal to send US troops to Gaza. According to London’s Times newspaper, Trump made a bizarre proposal to occupy Gaza after learning about the proposal from an Israeli academic. But some inside Trump say that Trump actually wants to do something new to replace the old ideas. There have been many conversations for 70 years, but no work has been done. He has now come up with such a proposal to shake everyone a little.