Egypt, Jordan reject forced displacement of Palestinians

By AFP

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II rejected on Wednesday any forced displacement of Gazans after US President Donald Trump floated an idea to move Palestinians from the territory to the two Arab countries.

In his first public response to Trump's comments, Sisi said that displacing "the Palestinian people from their land is an injustice that we cannot take part in".

Speaking at a press conference in Cairo with Kenyan President William Ruto, he added that Egypt's historic position in favour of the creation of a Palestinian state "can never be compromised".

Sisi said Egypt was nonetheless "determined to work with President Trump, who seeks to achieve the desired peace based on the two-state solution".

"We believe that President Trump is capable of fulfilling this long-awaited goal of establishing a just and lasting peace in the Middle East," he added.

Meanwhile, in Brussels, Jordan's King Abdullah II stressed his country's "firm position on the need to keep the Palestinians on their land and to guarantee their legitimate rights, in accordance with the Israeli and Palestinian two-state solution".

After an Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect on January 19, Trump had floated 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.

Speaking to reporters on Monday evening, Trump said that he hoped Sisi "would take some" Gazans.

"We helped them a lot, and I'm sure he'd help us," he said.

"As they say, it's a rough neighbourhood, but I think he would do it, and I think the king of Jordan would do it too."

The idea has since been roundly rejected by regional leaders, as well as by Germany and France, with both saying it was "unacceptable".

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, however, has called it a "great idea", and said he was working with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "to prepare an operational plan to ensure that President Trump's vision is realised".

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, both Egypt and Jordan have warned of plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank across their borders.

Sisi has repeatedly said that such a displacement would "eradicate the case for Palestinian statehood".

Both countries, key US allies in the region, are heavily reliant on foreign aid, with Washington serving as one of their largest donors.