Trump’s Proposal to Move Palestinians Out of Gaza Sparks New Backlash

France, Jordan and Egypt condemn Trump's proposal and warn against destabilisation in the region.

Tue Jan 28 2025
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KEY POINTS

  • Trump proposes moving Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan.
  • Jordan and Egypt reject the forced displacement of Palestinians.
  • France terms the plan as a violation of international laws and reaffirms support for a two-state solution.
  • OIC reports that 48,156 Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 2023.

 

CAIRO, Egypt: A proposal floated by US President Donald Trump to move Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan faced a renewed backlash on Tuesday as hundreds of thousands of Gazans, displaced by over 15 months of relentless Israeli bombardment, returned to their devastated neighbourhoods under a fragile ceasefire.

A ceasefire deal took effect earlier this month, intended to end the Israeli bombardment campaign launched in response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. According to the OIC media observatory, the Israeli military campaign has killed at least 48,156 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

After the ceasefire came into force, Trump touted a plan to “clean out” the Gaza Strip, reiterating the idea on Monday as he called for Palestinians to move to “safer” locations such as Egypt or Jordan.

The US president, who has repeatedly claimed credit for sealing the truce deal after months of failed negotiations, also said he would meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington “very soon”.

Jordan rejects Trump’s proposal

Jordan on Tuesday renewed its rejection of Trump’s proposal. “We emphasise that Jordan’s national security dictates that the Palestinians must remain on their land and that the Palestinian people must not be subjected to any kind of forced displacement whatsoever,” Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad Momani said.

Qatar reaffirms support for two-state solution

Qatar, which played a leading role in the truce mediation, on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for a two-state solution.

“Our position has always been clear to the necessity of the Palestinian people receiving their rights, and that the two-state solution is the only path forward,” al-Ansari told a regular media briefing when asked about Trump’s comments.

“We don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things with all our allies, not only the United States, but we work very closely with them to make sure that we formulate policy together,” al-Ansari said.

Egypt rejects forced displacement of Palestinians

Following reports that Trump had spoken with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the weekend, Cairo said there had been no such phone call.

“A senior official source denied what some media outlets reported about a phone call between the Egyptian and American presidents,” Egypt’s state information service said, adding that any such contact would have been announced.

Trump had said he would speak to Sisi on Sunday, but no phone call has been announced by either leader’s office.

On Monday, Trump reportedly said the pair had spoken, saying of Sisi: “I wish he would take some.”

The Egyptian foreign ministry on Sunday released a statement rejecting “any infringement on Palestinians’ inalienable rights to their land”, whether “temporarily or long-term”.

Egypt rejected the forced displacement of Gazans, expressing its “continued support for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land”.

France says “unacceptable”

France, another US ally, on Tuesday said any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza would be “unacceptable”.

It would also be a “destabilisation factor (for) our close allies Egypt and Jordan”, a French foreign ministry spokesman said.

“It would not only be a serious violation of international law, but also a major hindrance to the two-state solution,” the spokesman said, referring to calls for Israeli and Palestinian states to live side-by-side.

Moving Gaza’s 2.4 million people could be done “temporarily or could be long term”, Trump said on Saturday.

For Palestinians, any attempts to force them from Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the “Nakba”, or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.

Gaza truce deal

Almost all of the Gaza Strip’s inhabitants were displaced at least once by the Israeli bombardments that have levelled much of the Palestinian territory.

The ceasefire hinges on the release during the first phase of 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Since the truce began on January 19, seven Israeli hostages have been freed, as have about 290 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

ALSO READ: Israel Kills 37 Palestinians During Last Week Despite Gaza Ceasefire: OIC

On Monday, after Hamas and Israel agreed on the release of six hostages this week, “more than 300,000 displaced” Gazans were able to return to the north, according to the Hamas government media office.

Israeli forces have killed 37 Palestinians with bullets and shells in the besieged Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, and occupied Al-Quds during the last week, the Media Observatory of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for Israeli Crimes against the Palestinians said. It recorded the recovery of 264 bodies of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip between January 21-27, 2025.

It said that more than 492 Palestinians were injured in various Palestinian areas. “As of January 23, 2025, the total number of Palestinians murdered since October 7, 2023, had risen to 48,156, while the number of wounded reached 118,172,” it said.

The observatory in the report noted that in the Gaza Strip, 95% of Palestinian homes in Beit Lahia had been destroyed and became uninhabitable.

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