After meeting with President Trump at the White House, Jordan’s King Abdullah said that he reiterated Amman’s opposition to the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank.
“I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position,” Abdullah wrote on X.
The Jordanian leader called for the reconstruction of Gaza without the expulsion of Palestinians. “Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” he said.
While speaking with reporters alongside Trump, Abdullah did not outright reject Trump’s plan for the US to “take over” Gaza and expel the Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, which would mean ethnic cleansing.
When asked about Jordan’s opposition to the plan, Abdullah said, “Mr. President, we have to keep in mind that there is a plan from Egypt and the Arab countries. We’re being invited by [Saudi Crown Prince] Mohammed bin Salman to Riyadh to discussions in Riyadh. I think the point is how to make this work in a way that is good for everybody.”
After the meeting, Egypt announced that it would present a “comprehensive” proposal for the reconstruction of Gaza that would allow Palestinians to stay on their land and said it was ready to “cooperate with the US administration under President Donald Trump to reach a comprehensive and just peace in the region.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was scheduled to visit Washington on February 18, but according to a report from Daily News Egypt, the trip has been postponed indefinitely due to Cairo’s opposition to Trump’s proposal.
Abdullah announced during the brief press conference with Trump that Jordan would take 2,000 Palestinian children from Gaza who have cancer or are in some other kind of “ill state,” a step Trump said that he appreciated. But Trump continued to push his plan for Gaza while sitting next to Abdullah and even said that he believes Gaza’s population will end up on a “parcel of land in Jordan” and a “parcel of land in Egypt.”
The president did say he was open to expelling the Palestinians to other countries besides Egypt and Jordan. When asked about his comments about buying Gaza, Trump said, “We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it. We’re going to cherish it.”
The US provides Jordan with nearly $1.5 billion in aid each year under a seven-year deal signed in 2022. Trump has suggested he could cut off that aid if Jordan didn’t accept Palestinians, but said on Tuesday that he didn’t want to do that.
