Trump Urges Egypt, Jordan to Take in Gaza Refugees Displaced Following Hamas’ Oct. 7 Attack
President Trump: “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.'”
President Donald Trump has urged Jordan, Egypt, and other neighboring Arab states to accept Palestinian refugees, displaced in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
Given the history of Gaza being used by Palestinian terrorists to launch attacks on Israel, President Trump suggested relocating a large number of Gaza residents to establish lasting peace in the area.
“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 president said.
“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,'” he added.
While the mainstream media is outraged at the remarks, Trump’s assertions are based on historical realities. Jordan, already a majority Palestinian state, was carved out of the British Mandate for Palestine in 1946. Egypt governed Gaza till the Six-Day War of 1967.
Many of today’s so-called ‘Palestinian refugees’ are actually Arabs, who migrated from neighboring Arab countries in the wake of the economic boom created by Jewish immigration in the early 20th century.
Oh, the irony.
Transferring people who came from Jordan and Egypt (And hijacked the word Palestinian, and yes, I chose the word hijacked intentionally.) back to Jordan and Egypt.
If this happens, just wow. https://t.co/bM7F0lr7RA
— Hillel Fuld (@HilzFuld) January 26, 2025
The Associated Press reported the president’s remarks:
President Donald Trump said he would like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip, potentially moving out enough of the population to “just clean out” the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate. (…)
“I’d like Egypt to take people,” Trump said. “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.’”
Trump said he complimented Jordan for having successfully accepted Palestinian refugees and that he told the king, “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 the part of the world that encompasses Gaza, has “had many, many conflicts” over centuries. He said resettling “could be temporary or long term.”
“Something has to happen,” Trump said. “But it’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there.” He added: “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 of Gaza residents for the duration of the rebuilding effort could benefit the local population and help eradicate Hamas, an Israeli commentator suggested.
“The idea that had been floated by Israelis and Americans in the business community early in the war could provide a solution for the day after the war and improve the financial distress of the Strip’s residents while perhaps reducing their motivation for war against Israel,” the Israeli news website YNET observed. “Rebuilding the Gaza Strip void of most of its population would also prevent Hamas and other Islamist factions from rebuilding their military capabilities, including underground infrastructure and rocket launch pads.”
Jordan rejected the U.S. president’s suggestion. “Jordan’s foreign minister said the kingdom was “firm and unwavering” in its rejection of displacing Palestinians,” the BBC reported.
Egypt also rejected the U.S. proposal:
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry says it “rejects any plans to evacuate Gaza through displacement or encouraging the transfer or uprooting of Palestinians from their land, whether temporarily or long term.” The statement comes in response to Trump’s proposal to transfer Gazans. pic.twitter.com/isXqWXQQPx
— Ariel Oseran (@ariel_oseran) January 26, 2025
Palestinian leaders in Qatar, the leading Arab backer of Hamas, rebuffed the idea of resettlement, the UK newspaper Guardian reported:
Mustafa Barghouti, a senior Palestinian politician, said he “completely rejected” Trump’s comments, the Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported. Barghouti warned against attempts at “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, saying: “The Palestinian people are committed to remaining in their homeland.” (…)
Qatari officials, who mediated the pause in fighting in Gaza, described “any plan that would end with relocation or reoccupation” as a red line.
Is Trump right that Egypt should resettle Gazans?
Here's a top Hamas leader admitting that they're Egyptians
Egypt used to control Gaza. It can take its Gazans back. pic.twitter.com/anICxhIx7z
— Daniel Greenfield – "Hang Together or Separately" (@Sultanknish) January 26, 2025
Hostages-for-terrorists deal falters amid Hamas violations and provocations
Meanwhile, the week-old ceasefire ushered in by the hostages-for-terrorists deal is faltering amid repeated violations and provocations by Hamas.
Israel on Saturday halted the implementation of the agreement after Hamas refused to release a female civilian hostage in keeping with the deal. According to The Times of Israel, Israel “will not allow Gazans to reach the north of the Strip until Hamas arranges for the release of civilian Arbel Yehud, who was supposed to be freed over the weekend, in accordance with the deal’s stipulation that civilian women be freed first.”
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was forced to fire warning shots after unidentified Palestinians were seen approaching military posts in Gaza. “In the central Gaza Strip, IDF troops identified several gatherings of dozens of suspects that posed a threat to the forces. The troops fired warning shots to address the threat,” the Israeli military disclosed in a statement on Sunday.
No injuries were reported from the incident, the IDF confirmed.
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Comments
If they wanted to remain in their homeland they would be moving to Egypt and Jordan …
I like it. Make these “refugees” disperse and go back to their originating countries.
The trouble being NO ONE wants the Gazans, and for good reason.
My first thought was that Trump is applying ‘Art of the Deal’ pressure: “you countries either work with the US and Israel to tame these monkeys where they’re at or we’ll apply maximum pressure to send them to you to deal with on your own soil”.
In the aftermath of the Kuwait war, Palestinians had tried to take over Kuwait to administer it “for ” Sadam Husain simultaneous with an attempt to assassinate Jordanian leadership prior to a takeover there.
NOBODY WANTS THEM, and for good reason.
I don’t think its responsibility of Egypt or Jordan to allow them to re-settle inside their borders. I know Jordan isn’t capable of handling them, they have potential to destabilize any host government.
But governments in the region should step up to fund rebuilding of basic services. Especially the oil rich gulf states that benefit from US security arrangements so they can pump their oil.
You are right Smooth. It’s NOT “the responsibility” of either Egypt nor Jordan to take Palestinians from Gaza. However, what is a better solution? To allow the PLO/Hamas/New Name to remain in Gaza simply continues the situation that led to 7 October. The attacks on Israel will resume.
So… the U.S. review of foreign aid puts a nice lever into the works. Egypt NEEDS the money; Jordan likes it. The stick can be bigger than that if the infamous boogeyman of tariffs are threatened.
On the other hand, taking the Palestinians will mean more U.S. money, and how can Europe – who profess sympathy for them- refuse to contribute funds to them?
In any case, it is a fresh option that we haven’t seen seriously discussed.
Jordan tried in the past to re-settle palestinian refugees, and they won’t ever try again. They turned on the Jordan government and tried to overthrow it. That option isn’t there.
The last thing we need is Egypt destabilized by Palestinian terrorists. They need to be contained and the only option for Egypt is to set up a tent city in the Sinai and build a tall wall around it with armed guards. Keep them isolated and let the UN feed them. There is no amount of foreign aid that would make it a good idea to let Palestinians have any level of freedom in Egypt.
Hundreds of thousands of terrorists certainly do have the ability to destabilize a host government which is why Jordan and Egypt threw them out in the first place. I seriously doubt they are going to let them back in.
This is the maximalist opening offer. Jordan won’t take them because they don’t want to fight another civil war. Egypt won’t take them because they know they’d have to fight them at some point.
The counter-offers will be interesting.
My offer is to find them an island or island chain somewhere far away from anyone else (say a couple of hundred miles) and place them there.
Remember when the PLO was expelled from Lebanon? All the countries they enriched….
Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait — all have expelled Palestinians.
“You’re talking about probably a million and a half people”
Which is about the same number of illegal aliens Biden let into our country every few months.
Gazan Arabs have caused trouble in every neighboring Arab country they moved to. Yes Gazans are Egyptian and Jordanian among others as well. Yassar Arafat was Egyptian. Before this war 20% of Israel’s population was Arab and they did well as residents of Israel. It will take diplomacy and luck to remove the Gazans who want to be free of Hamas just as it took both to forge the Abraham Accord a few years ago. The book “Sledgehammer” by our diplomat David Friedman tells of the bold work it took to remove the status quo when most of proper DC had a fit and told all the reasons why this effort was impossible.
Thank god that trump won. Otherwise kamala would be airlifting 1.5 million gaza “refugees” in US right now.
And that’s not sarcasm.
He was working on it and said he wanted a massive influx of them.
No country wants to take refugees it know they can’t trust. Have Iran take them.
As others have said, no one wants them or likes them. They do not even like themselves. The irony is what an easy life they could have if only they learned how to say yes.
They have placed themselves beyond help. There is no ingrained memory of doing the right thing because they got paid for doing the wrong things by the UN, US and others.
No country wants Hamas or the Palestinians because they are so toxic. Every nation that allowed them into their country regretted it. It’s like allowing Muslims into Western nations. I think Trump should make this statement and then walk away from the issue. It has been going on for decades and will continue as long as there is one Hamas terrorist alive. This is one area where his credibility can be lost because he has no control over the problem. No threats will change their minds and no sanctions will affect them. Let the Middle East handle this issue.
Irish President Higgins loves the Gazans. Please send all 1.5 million Gazans to Ireland so they can get their free daily pint of Guinness. Son of a B Higgins attacked Israel at a Auschwitz memorial event. Jewish attendees who merely turned their backs on Higgins were physically dragged out of the event. This will not be forgotten.
Please don’t ruin Ireland!
Egypt gets way too much foreign aid to be saying no.
Jordan has learned their lesson and Egypt would be insane to allow offshots of the Muslim Brotherhood into the country. I do not blame either country for refusing to take in Palestinians. It has not worked out well in the past for anyone who has helped them. The Arab world hates the Pals and the reason they want a Palestine is to keep them contained there and out of their countries.
Funny … 47 didn’t go to no SAIS or Fletcher, but he intuitively GETS IT!
Praise G_d.
“[Palestinian pol Mustafa] Barghouti warned against attempts at “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, saying: ‘The Palestinian people are committed to remaining in their homeland.'”
“Ethnic cleansing,” like the kind of cleaning you’d do to Israel if you had the means. But rest easy, Mustafa – it will be quite the surprise if either Egypt or Jordan agrees to take in 1.5M pit vipers constantly ready to strike at anything they see. They’ve been here before.
Any country would be mad to allow a million Palestinians in.
They have destabilized any country that has let them in in the past.
Jordan had to fight a war to get them out.