United States President, Donald Trump, has threatened to withhold US aid to Jordan and Egypt if they reject his plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza.
Trump, in a social media post last week announced that the US will now own the Gaza Strip following a ceasefire deal which will see an end to the war between Hamas and Israel.
This, according to reports, calls for Jordan and Egypt to take in close to 2 million more Palestinians from Gaza so that the war-torn land can be transformed into what Trump calls “the Riviera of the Middle East” under his watch.
This proposal to “clean out” Gaza has ignited a sharp wave of backlash from Middle Eastern leaders, including Abdullah.
The Jordanian royal court, in a statement posted to X on Wednesday, in the wake of Trump’s stunning announcement last week, said: “His Majesty King Abdullah II stresses the need to put a stop to (Israeli) settlement expansion, expressing rejection of any attempts to annex land and displace the Palestinians.”
According to ABC News, Abdullah has also, in the days since, engaged in a flurry of calls and meetings with the U.N. and other countries that have historically supported the creation of a Palestinian homeland — a possible effort to present a united front aimed at pushing back against Trump’s designs for Gaza.
But Trump does not seem bothered by the opposition. The US President, in a clip from his weekend interview with Fox News released on Monday, said that under his scheme, Palestinians removed from Gaza would not have the right to return to the land after reconstruction was completed.
“No, they wouldn’t, because they’re going to have much better housing, much better,” he said. “I’m talking about building a permanent place for them.”
Speaking on the opposition from Jordan and Egypt about taking in large numbers of Palestinians, Trump vowed to pressure their governments to get on board.
“If they don’t agree, I would conceivably withhold aid,” he told reporters Monday night.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is gearing up for potentially contentious meetings with Arab power players this week as President Donald Trump continues to press his plan.
Jordan’s King Abdullah is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House, becoming the first Arab leader to do so since he returned to power last month.
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