Trump repeats suggestion Palestinians should leave Gaza for Egypt and Jordan
Trump repeats suggestion Palestinians should leave Gaza for Egypt and Jordan
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US president insists leaders of both countries would agree to move that could be ‘temporary or long-term’. Donald Trump has repeated his suggestion that large numbers of Palestinians should leave Gaza for Egypt or Jordan, despite widespread opposition to the proposal from Palestinian leadership, the UN and US allies in the region.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday night, the US president was asked about his comments over the weekend about “cleaning out” the Gaza Strip either “temporarily or long-term”. Trump reiterated he would “like to get [Palestinians from Gaza] living in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence so much.”.
The remarks, apparently at odds with existing US policy and international law, have been widely rejected by the Arab world as a potentially fatal blow to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but were embraced by Israel’s rightwing.
Trump also said he was due to meet with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, “soon”, amid speculation the long-time Israeli premier will be the first foreign leader to visit the White House during Trump’s second term. “When you look at the Gaza Strip, it’s been hell for so many years,” Trump said on Monday.
“There have been various civilisations on that strip. It didn’t start here. It started thousands of years before, and there’s always been violence associated with it. You could get people living in areas that are a lot safer and maybe a lot better and maybe a lot more comfortable.”.
