Former US President Donald Trump has stirred intense backlash by suggesting that Palestinian displaced from Gaza should resettle in Egypt and Jordan. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump claimed to have already broached the idea of relocating Palestinians with Jordan’s King Abdullah and intended to raise it with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Describing Gaza as a “demolition site,” Trump said, “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.” While he mentioned the relocation could be either “temporary” or “long-term,” his remarks have ignited fury among Palestinians and their leadership, who view Gaza as their irreplaceable homeland.
Palestinian Leaders Reject Relocation
Palestinian leaders swiftly condemned the proposal, emphasizing their unwavering commitment to staying in Gaza despite immense suffering. Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told the BBC, “Our people have endured death and destruction for 15 months… They will not accept any solutions disguised as goodwill reconstruction offers.” Similarly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the plan, calling it “a project aimed at displacing our people.”
Gaza residents echoed this sentiment. Abu Yahya Rashid, a man displaced in Khan Younis, declared, “We will not leave this land except as corpses. It belongs to us and our ancestors.”
The Toll of War
Trump’s comments come amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, following a devastating conflict that erupted after Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. That attack killed 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken back to Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has claimed the lives of more than 47,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The war has left Gaza in ruins, with the United Nations estimating that 60% of the territory’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed. Rebuilding efforts could take decades, leaving most of Gaza’s two million residents displaced and living amid devastation.
Trump’s Vision
While Trump framed his proposal as a pragmatic solution to provide displaced Palestinians with peace and stability, he did not elaborate on the logistics or specifics of his plan. “Almost everything is demolished, and people are dying there,” he said. “I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where maybe they can live in peace for a change.”
The White House, however, omitted any reference to this controversial idea in its official statement, signaling either hesitation or a lack of consensus within the administration.
Regional Resistance
Jordan and Egypt, already hosting millions of Palestinian refugees, have been vocal in rejecting further displacement plans. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi reiterated his country’s “firm and unwavering” opposition to moving Palestinians out of their land, warning against creating new cycles of conflict and instability in the region.
The Bottom Line
Trump’s suggestion to relocate Gaza’s population has reignited long-standing fears of forced displacement and the erosion of Palestinian sovereignty. As Gaza’s residents and leaders resist, the broader Arab world also seems unlikely to embrace such a contentious plan, underscoring the enduring complexities of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
