Adedokun Waliyu 
President Donald Trump expressed on Saturday his desire for Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab nations to increase their intake of Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip.
He suggested that relocating a significant portion of the population could help “clean out” the war-torn area, creating a fresh start.
He stated this during a 20-minute Q&A session with reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump also announced the end of his predecessor’s hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel.
This decision removes a measure intended to reduce civilian casualties during Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza, which is currently paused by a fragile ceasefire.
Trump revealed that he discussed a potential plan with Jordan’s King Abdullah II to relocate over 1 million Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries, including Jordan and Egypt.
This proposal involves constructing housing for the relocated Palestinians. Trump stated that he asked King Abdullah II to take in more Palestinians during a phone call on Saturday, citing the significant number of people affected – around 1.5 million, CNN reports.
“I said to him that I’d love you to take on more, because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess,” he said.
Trump expressed his desire for Jordan and Egypt to provide housing for people from Gaza, with Egypt being a neighbouring country to the war-torn enclave.
He mentioned that he plans to also discuss the plan with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday.
“You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” Trump said.
He continued: “I don’t know, something has to happen, but it’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished and people are dying there, so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location where I think they could maybe live in peace for a change.”
Trump said that the potential housing “could be temporary” or “could be long-term.”
Approximately 90% of Gazans have been displaced since the Israeli-Hamas war started last October.
