Over the weekend, Trump engaged in discussions with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, urging them to consider accepting some of the roughly 1.5 million Gazans as part of a voluntary migration program aimed at rehabilitating and rebuilding the Gaza Strip.
While Egypt’s Foreign Ministry quickly rejected the proposal, calling it an infringement on the rights of Palestinian Arabs, Trump shared details of his conversation with al-Sisi during a Monday briefing aboard Air Force One. The Egyptian president responded by expressing his desire for “peace in the Middle East,” a sentiment that Trump emphasized in his remarks.
“Their response [was] that he’d like to see peace in the Middle East,” Trump said, referring to al-Sisi’s comments. “I’d like to see peace in the Middle East. I’d like to get them living in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence. When you look at the Gaza Strip, it’s been hell for so many years.”
Trump continued, noting the region’s long history of conflict, stating, “It just seems to me there’s been various civilizations on that Strip and, you know, it didn’t start here. It started thousands of years before, and there’s always been violence associated with it. So I think you could get people living in areas that are a lot safer and maybe a lot better and maybe a lot more comfortable.”
Despite Egypt’s rejection, Trump reiterated his call for Egypt to “take some” of Gaza’s displaced residents, emphasizing that the U.S. has supported Egypt in the past and that al-Sisi is a key ally in a “rough neighborhood.” “I wish [Sisi] would take some [Gazans],” Trump added. “We helped them a lot, and I’m sure he’d help us. He’s a friend of mine. He’s in a very rough part of the world, to be honest.”
In addition to Egypt, the Trump administration has reportedly approached other countries, including Albania and Indonesia, both of which have Muslim-majority populations, to consider taking in displaced Palestinians.
When asked about Palestinian statehood, Trump declined to comment directly but indicated that he would be speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the near future. Two sources, cited by The Times of Israel, confirmed that Netanyahu’s office is in discussions with the White House about a possible visit to Washington, scheduled to begin next Sunday and end the following Wednesday.
As the plan for Gaza's resettlement continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how regional leaders will respond, and whether Trump’s vision of a safer, more stable environment for displaced Gazans will come to fruition.
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