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President Trump said he told Jordan’s King Abdullah II during a phone call on Saturday that he wanted Jordan and Egypt to take in more Palestinians from Gaza, an idea that could spark debate over the future of the nearly two million Palestinians.
“I told him, ‘I want to be more involved because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s a mess,'” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. He added that he also wants Egypt to accept more Palestinians and will speak with the country’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, on Sunday.
Mr. Trump made the remarks on an evening flight after a rally in Las Vegas; it is not clear whether they indicate a change in US policy towards the Palestinians.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have started returning to their homes as a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel enters its second week. It was the second ceasefire between the two sides since October 7, 2023, when Hamas led an attack on Israel that killed more than 1,200 Israelis. Since then, Israeli forces have killed at least 46,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials who do not distinguish between fighters and civilians. It also destroyed thousands of homes and buildings in Gaza and killed Hamas leaders.
Most of the two million Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to flee their homes at least once. And although aid has increased in recent days, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, with water, food and medicine running low and few hospitals operating.
“You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we’re just clearing it all out,” Mr. Trump said of Gaza. “I don’t know. Something has to happen, but it’s literally a place of destruction right now.”
Millions of Palestinian refugees live in camps in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and a few other countries in the Middle East. Since the start of the war, Egypt has said it will no longer accept Palestinian refugees, and attempts to force Palestinians to enter its territory could include an agreement it makes with Israel.
