Trump says he wants to ‘clean out’ Gaza, send refugees to Egypt and Jordan

Summary
The president, calling the heavily bombed enclave “a demolition site,” proposed relocating Palestinians temporarily or long-term, a move rejected by Arab countries since the war began.TEL AVIV—President Trump said he wants to “clean out" the Gaza Strip and urged Jordan and Egypt to take in refugees either temporarily or for the long term, a move that has been rejected by Arab countries since the war began.
The president said he told King Abdullah II of Jordan in a phone call on Saturday that he wants the monarch’s country to take Palestinians. He said he expected to make a similar request of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in a coming phone call.
“You’re talking about a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing," the president told reporters on Air Force One on Saturday. “You know over the centuries it is had many, many conflicts. And I don’t know, something has to happen."
Jordanian officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The issue of Palestinians leaving Gaza has been politically sensitive. Many Palestinians fear if they leave the enclave, Israel will never allow them to return. There are several million Palestinian refugees scattered mostly in Arab countries since Israel’s founding in 1948, and their future has been at the heart of the conflict.
Egypt and Jordan so far have rejected the idea of taking in refugees from Gaza, fearing a flood of refugees could destabilize their own countries. Leaders of both countries have said they want Gazans to be able to stay in the enclave. The Biden administration also advocated keeping Gazans inside the Strip.
Most of Gaza’s over two million residents have fled their homes at least once during the 15-month-long war that began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched deadly attacks on southern Israel. More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting began, according to local health authorities, who don’t say how many were combatants.
Much of the enclave has been destroyed during the war, and many of the displaced are currently living in tent encampments.
“It is literally a demolition site, almost everything is demolished and people are dying there so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change," Trump said.
He said Gazans could live in Egypt or Jordan “temporarily or could be long term."
King Abdullah has said he opposes Palestinians being moved out of Gaza.
“No, refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt," he told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in late October 2023.
More than half of Jordan’s population is of Palestinian origin, including almost 2.4 million Palestinian refugees registered with the United Nations.
Suha Ma’ayeh contributed to this article.