“Egypt and Jordan should not be in a position to simply say ‘no'”, Trump’s hostage envoy told Israeli media [Getty]
Members of the Trump administration are continuing to push the US president’s plan to expel 1.5 million Palestinians from Gaza amid negotiations between American and Israeli officials about how to permanently end the war.
Over the past week, Trump has twice promoted the mass displacement of Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, claiming that reconstructing the territory will require its residents to be ‘cleaned out’.
Reports on Wednesday suggested that discussions about how to carry out the plan are taking place between senior US and Israeli officials, with Israeli media reporting that Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff raised the subject in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.
Senior officials quoted by Channel 13 News said they “got the impression that the Americans are serious about this idea, that it’s not just talk”.
Trump’s statements were condemned around the world as advocating for ethnic cleansing and received criticism even from US allies.
Egypt and Jordan have strongly rejected the mass displacement of Palestinians and refused to cooperate with the US president.
“Regarding what is being said about the displacement of Palestinians, it can never be tolerated or allowed because of its impact on Egyptian national security,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said Wednesday.
“The deportation or displacement of the Palestinian people is an injustice in which we cannot participate.”
In response, Trump’s envoy for ‘hostage affairs’ Adam Boehler threatened on Wednesday to raise pressure on the two countries, telling Israel’s Channel 12 that “Egypt and Jordan should not be in a position to simply say ‘no'”.
“I think Egypt and Jordan should offer an alternative after they rejected the idea of taking in the Palestinians,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reportedly held conversations with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian officials in the wake of Trump’s comments.
Trump on Sunday claimed that he had spoken personally to the Egyptian president about the idea, telling reporters that he was “confident” that Sisi would agree to take in Palestinians.
“[Sisi’s] old friend of mine in a very tough part of the world. But I think he’ll do it, and I believe King Abdullah will too,” he said.
Egypt has disputed Trump’s version of events and denied the existence of a phone call between the two leaders.
The expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza is an ambition among many of Israel’s right-wing, whose long-term goal is to annex the territory and incorporate it into Israel.
The idea was openly discussed by senior officials during the first weeks of the war, who advocated for pushing displaced Gazans over the border into Egypt.
Netanyahu was reported at the time to be lobbying Western countries to pressure Cairo into housing thousands of refugees in the Sinai Peninsula.
There is also support for expulsion among the top brass of the Israeli military. One member of the general staff described it as “an excellent idea” in comments to Yedioth Ahronoth this week.
Trump is expected to discuss the subject with Netanyahu next week when the Israeli prime minister visits Washington.
