DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump’s advice that Egypt and Jordan take in the Palestinians The war-torn Gaza Strip That is likely to be met with a resounding “no” from both US allies and the Palestinians themselves, who fear Israel will never allow them to return.
Trump came up with the idea on Saturdaysaying that he would urge the leaders of both Arab countries to take in the now largely displaced population of Gaza, so that “we can just clean this whole thing up.” He added that the resettlement of the Gaza population “could be temporary or long-term.”
“It’s literally a demolition site right now,” Trump was quoted as saying. Widespread destruction Because of Israel’s 15-month military campaign against Hamas, Now halted by a fragile truce.
“I would rather get involved with some of the Arab countries, and create an accommodation in a different place, where they can maybe live in peace for a change,” Trump said.
There was no immediate comment from Egyptian, Jordanian, Israeli or Palestinian officials.
The idea could be welcomed by Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing governing partners have long advocated the voluntary relocation of large numbers of Palestinians and the settlement of Jewish settlements in Gaza. Described as recovery.
Human rights groups Already accused Israel of ethnic cleansingdefined by UN experts as a policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove the civilian population of another group from certain areas “through violent and terrorist-inspired means.”
Date of relocation
Before and during the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel, some 700,000 Palestinians – mostly the Palestinian population – fled or were driven from their homes in what is now Israel, which they commemorate. Nakba – Arabic for destruction.
Israel refused to allow them to return because that would have resulted in a Palestinian majority within its borders. Refugees and their descendants now number around 6 million, with large groups in Gaza, where they form the majority of the population, as well as the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
i 1967 Midwest Warwhen Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 300,000 more Palestinians fled, mostly to Jordan.
The decades-old refugee crisis has been a major driver of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was one of the sticking points in peace talks that last broke down in 2009. The Palestinians claim the right of return, while Israel says they should be absorbed. Arab countries around.
Many Palestinians see the latest war in Gaza, in which entire neighborhoods have been razed to the ground and 90% of the population of 2.3 million have been forced from their homes, as a new Nakba. They fear that if large numbers of Palestinians leave Gaza, they too may never return.
A red line for countries that made peace with Israel decades ago
Egypt and Jordan strongly rejected the idea of accepting Gaza refugees early in the war, when This was presented by some Israeli officials.
Both countries have made peace with Israel but support the establishment of a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, which Israel acquired in the 1967 Middle East War. They fear that the continued displacement of Gaza’s population may make this impossible.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has also warned of the security implications of moving large numbers of Palestinians to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, bordering Gaza.
Hamas and other militant groups are deeply rooted in Palestinian society and are likely to move with these refugees, meaning that future wars will be fought on Egyptian soil, something that is exposed. May be. The historic Camp David Peace Accordsa cornerstone of regional stability.
El-Sisi declared in October 2023, after triggering the war following a Hamas attack on southern Israel, “the peace we have won will end with our hands.” “All for the sake of the idea of ending the Palestinian cause.”
This is what happened in Lebanon in the 1970s, when Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organization, the leading militant group of its time, turned the south of the country into a launch pad for attacks on Israel. The refugee crisis and the actions of the PLO helped push Lebanon into a 15-year civil war in 1975. Israel twice invaded and occupied southern Lebanon from 1982 to 2000.
Jordan, which clashed with the PLO and expelled it under similar circumstances in 1970, already hosts more than two million Palestinian refugees, most of whom have been granted citizenship.
Israeli ultranationalists have long suggested that Jordan be considered a Palestinian state so that Israel can retain the West Bank, which they see as the biblical heartland of the Jewish people. The Kingdom of Jordan has strongly rejected this scenario.
Can Trump force Egypt and Jordan to accept refugees?
It depends on how serious Trump is about the idea and how far he is willing to go.
US Customs – One of Trump’s favorite economic tools – or outright sanctions for Jordan and Egypt could be disastrous. Both countries receive billions of dollars in US aid and Egypt each year Already suffering from economic crisis.
But the influx of refugees can also be unstable. Egypt says it is currently hosting 900,000 migrants, including refugees from Sudan’s civil war. Jordan, with a population of less than 12 million, is hosting more than 700,000 refugees, mainly from Syria.
US pressure would also risk alienating key allies in the region with whom Trump has good relations. Leaders of Saudi ArabiaQatar and Turkey, all support the Palestinian cause.
That would complicate potential efforts to implement a landmark deal to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, something Trump tried to do during his previous term and is expected to continue with his It will be completed in the present.
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Associated Press writer Sami Magdi in Cairo contributed to this report.
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