U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday doubled down on his call for Gazans to be relocated to “safer” locations, saying he would “like to get them living in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence so much,” according to Agence France-Presse.
“When you look at the Gaza Strip, it’s been hell for so many years... there’s always been violence associated with it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, the report said.
When asked how this would impact prospects of a two-state solution, the president said he would discuss the matter with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in Washington “in the not-too-distant future.”
Trump on Saturday called on Arab nations, singling out Egypt and Jordan, to take in more Palestinians from Gaza, which suffered extensive damage during the 15-month Israel-Hamas war.
“I’d like Egypt to take people,” Trump said, according to the Associated Press. “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over.’
“Something has to happen. It’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there,” he continued.
“So, I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change.”
The relocation “could be temporary or long term,” he added, according to AP.
He praised Jordan’s previous acceptance of Palestinian refugees and expressed interest in expanding this approach. “I’d love for you to take on more, cause I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s a mess. It’s a real mess,” Trump said he had told Jordan’s King Abdullah II during a recent conversation.
Amman and Cairo have repeatedly made clear that they would not accept any Palestinian civilians from the Gaza Strip, declaring it a “red line.”
