Trump reiterates Gaza expulsion plan – and stokes security fears

Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in northern Gaza on January 29, 2025.

US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Egypt and Jordan should absorb Palestinians from Gaza has gotten no takers in the Arab world, shocked US allies like France and Germany, and threatens to strengthen Hamas.

The timing and content of US President Donald Trump’s latest idea to “clean out” Gaza by getting “Arab nations” to “take people” from the Palestinian territory came as a shocker, even for a world grown accustomed to policy bombshells from the old-new man in the White House.

On Saturday, when Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that some Arab nations could “build housing in a different location” for Gaza’s 1.5 million people, many hoped it was the first and last they would hear about an explosive idea for one of the world’s most volatile regions.

But barely 48 hours later, their hopes were dashed.

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On Monday night, on yet another flight with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump was at it again.

This time, he cited Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as likely partners to his scheme.

"I wish he would take some [Gazans]," Trump said of Sisi. "We helped them a lot, and I'm sure he'd help us." While acknowledging that the Middle East was a “rough neighbourhood” Trump added, “I think the king of Jordan would do it too."


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