US President Donald Trump said that he has discussed the possibility of relocating over one million Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring nations with King Abdullah II of Jordan.
"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," Trump said.
Meanwhile, the Jordan's state news agency Petra confirmed the telephone conversation but it did not mention any discussion about Palestinian relocation. Currently, Jordan hosts more than 2.39 million registered Palestinian refugees, according to UN figures.
Trump expressed interest in both Jordan and Egypt accommodating displaced people from the war-torn region. He mentioned plans to discuss this matter with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi the following day.
“You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” Trump said, adding that there have been centuries-long conflicts in the region.
“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,” he added.
Trump indicated that the proposed housing developments could serve either temporary or permanent purposes.
This stance represents a major change from traditional US diplomatic positions, which have consistently supported a two-state resolution for Israel and Palestine.
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