US President Donald Trump on Monday renewed calls on Monday for Egypt and Jordan to take in Gaza’s 2.2 million population, a plan condemned around the world as an attempt at ethnically cleansing the territory of Palestinians.
The president on Saturday floated the idea to “clean out” Gaza after more than 15 months of war between Hamas and Israel, which he said had reduced the Palestinian territory to a “demolition site.”
Asked about those comments, Trump told reporters Monday evening on Air Force One he would “like to get them living in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence so much”.
Trump has held talks in recent days with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who have historically opposed displacing Palestinians.
“I wish he would take some,” Trump said of al-Sisi. “We helped them a lot, and I’m sure he’d help us.”
“As they say, it’s a rough neighborhood, but I think he would do it, and I think the king of Jordan would do it too,” he added.
