Trump, Jordan's king to meet amid controversial Gaza 'take over' plan

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
Today 14:22

King Abdullah has firmly opposed any efforts to "annex" land or forcibly displace Palestinians.

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US President Donald Trump meets with King Abdullah II of Jordan in the Oval Office of the White House, on Monday, June 25, 2018, in Washington. (AP)

Donald Trump is set to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday in what is expected to be a tense encounter, following the US president's controversial proposal for Gaza’s redevelopment and his threat to cut aid to Jordan if it refuses to host Palestinians displaced from the enclave.

Trump’s proposal, floated a week ago, suggested that the US "take over" Gaza, expel its residents, and transform the territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East," in a plan that has been met with strong opposition from the Arab world.

The proposal has added new complications to an already delicate regional situation, including a fragile ceasefire between "Israel" and Hamas.

On Monday, the Palestinian group announced it would halt the release of Israeli captives from Gaza, accusing "Israel" of violating the ceasefire agreement. In response, Trump suggested canceling the ceasefire if Hamas does not release all remaining captives by the weekend.

King Abdullah has firmly opposed any efforts to "annex" land or forcibly displace Palestinians. During Tuesday’s meeting, he is expected to warn Trump that such actions could fuel radicalism, destabilize the region, and endanger Jordan’s 1994 normalization agreement with "Israel", Reuters suggested.

Trump, meanwhile, has grown increasingly impatient with Arab leaders who reject the idea.

"I do think he'll take" refugees, the US president told reporters at the White House on Monday when asked about King Abdullah’s stance.

When pressed on whether he would withhold aid from Jordan and Egypt if they refused, Trump responded, "Yeah, maybe, sure, why not... if they don't agree, I would conceivably withhold aid."

The threat came after Egypt rejected earlier Monday "any compromise" that would infringe on Palestinians' rights, in a statement issued after Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met with his US counterpart in Washington.

Trump earlier said in an interview for Fox News Channel's Bret Baier that Palestinians would have no right to return to Gaza under his US takeover plan, which he unveiled in a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.

"No, they wouldn't, because they're going to have much better housing," Trump said when Baier asked if the Palestinians would have the right to return to the enclave, most of which has been reduced to rubble by the Israeli military since October 2023.

"In other words, I'm talking about building a permanent place for them because if they have to return now, it'll be years before you could ever – it's not habitable."

Jordan, which borders Saudi Arabia, Syria, and occupied Palestine, is already home to over two million Palestinian refugees within its population of 11 million.

It is noteworthy that Amman has relied on Washington as its primary source of economic and military assistance for decades, receiving over $1 billion annually.