President Donald Trump welcomed Jordan’s King Adbullah II to the White House on Tuesday, one week after sending a jolt through the Middle East when he unveiled a plan for the U.S. to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate Palestinians to neighboring countries.
Sitting down in the Oval Office with Adbullah and his son, the crown prince, Trump doubled down on his desire for long-term U.S. ownership of Gaza, which he wants to make an “economic development” with hotels, office buildings and housing. Trump insisted that the U.S. would not need to “buy” the Palestinian territory but rather would just “have it” and “cherish it.” He asserted he would be able to acquire the land under “U.S. authority,” although it is unclear what he means by that.
“No one is going to question it,” Trump declared.
But looming large over the high-stakes meeting was the portion of Trump’s plan that requires Arab nations such as Jordan and Egypt to take in Palestinians. The U.S. leader has floated the idea of such countries accepting people from Gaza since the early days of his return to the White House and continued to insist he could persuade them to do so even in the face of skepticism from the Arab nations.
Trump expanded on such a vision, saying he imagines having a “parcel of land” in both Jordan and Egypt for Palestinians to live.
Despite Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, last week saying his country’s opposition to Trump’s idea was “firm and unwavering,” Abdullah on Tuesday appeared to tread more carefully while seated next to the U.S. president. The Jordanian leader instead said they have to discuss how they “make this work in a way that is good for everybody” before announcing a plan to take in 2,000 sick children from Gaza.
“That’s a beautiful gesture,” Trump responded, adding it was the first he was hearing of the plan.
The president added he was 99% sure he could get Egypt on board.
Trump’s pressure campaign on the Arab nations intensified Monday when he said he would consider withholding aid to the longtime U.S. allies in the region, which are among the top recipients of its foreign assistance, should they continue to balk at his request to receive Palestinians.
In the Oval Office, however, Trump softened his stance saying, “I don’t have to threaten with money.”
“We’re above that,” he added.
Trump added that his plan is not a “complex thing to do” and would instead bring “stability” in the long-turbulent Middle East for the first time. He appeared to reiterate his statement during an interview with Fox News that aired Monday that Palestinians would not return to Gaza under his plan — despite previous U.S. administrations of both parties supporting proposals for a two-state solution.
“Palestinians — people that live now in Gaza — will be living beautifully in another location,” Trump said on Tuesday.
A readout from then-President Joe Biden’s White House meeting almost exactly one year ago with the Jordanian king noted the pair’s commitment to “achieving a durable, lasting peace to include a two-state solution.” Abdullah also visited the White House to meet with Biden in May.
Trump’s and Abdullah’s meeting also comes amid apparent rifts in the ceasefire deal currently in place in Gaza after Hamas accused Israel of violating the three-week-old agreement and threatened to delay the agreed-upon release of hostages.
Trump responded Monday by telling reporters he thinks the deal should be outright canceled if Hamas doesn’t release all the remaining hostages it is holding in Gaza by midday Saturday — though he also said that such a decision would be up to Israel.
Trump on Tuesday said he doesn’t think Hamas is going to make the deadline because they want to “play tough guy.”
Trump’s and Biden’s teams worked together in the final days of the U.S. transition of power last month to help put into place the first phase, set to last six weeks, of a multistep hostage release and ceasefire proposal that ultimately looks to end the war in Gaza. All sides were set to start negotiating on the second phase of the plan last week.