Rabia Iclal Turan
31 January 2025•Update: 31 January 2025
WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump doubled down Thursday on his controversial proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan, insisting that the two countries will comply, despite their repeated rejections.
“They will do it. They will do it. They’re going to do it, okay? We do a lot for them, and they’re going to do it,” Trump told reporters when asked if he would consider measures to pressure Cairo and Amman to accept his plan.
Trump called over the weekend to “clean out” Gaza and resettle Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, describing the enclave as a “demolition site” after Israel’s genocidal war.
The two countries vehemently rejected any call for the displacement or relocation of Palestinians from their land, however.
Trump's proposal came after a ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending the Israeli war, that has killed more than 47,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Gaza's health authorities.
Nearly 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7 in Israel and 250 were taken to Gaza as hostages, according to official figures.
Trump's proposal has received widespread condemnation, with critics calling it "ethnic cleansing" and a "war crime." Many countries in the Muslim and Arab world as well as European nations such as France have firmly rejected the idea.
