US President Donald Trump spoke out for the first time in favor of evacuating the devastated Gaza Strip and relocating its Palestinian population to Arab countries. Trump expressed his intention during a flight on Air Force One, stating that Egypt and Jordan would take in people, referring to the approximately 1.5 million residents of the Gaza Strip. He said, “We’ll clean the area thoroughly and it’ll be great, just great.”
Such a drastic relocation of people would directly contradict the Palestinian identity and deep connection to the Gaza Strip. Despite this, Trump claimed that the region, to which the Gaza Strip belongs, has experienced “many, many conflicts”over the centuries. He left open the possibility of the relocation being either temporary or long-term.
Meanwhile, Trump lifted the hold on the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, which had been withheld by his predecessor, Joe Biden. Trump stated, “We released them today and they’ve been waiting for a long time.”When asked why he lifted the ban, Trump replied, “Because they bought them.”
Throughout his political career, Trump has been open in his support for Israel. In his vision for the Gaza Strip, Trump mentioned that he spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan earlier that morning and plans to speak with Egyptian President Abd al-Fattah as-Sisi on Sunday.
Trump’s statements come at a time when he is celebrating the first phase of the ceasefire between the Hamas and Israel, during which hostilities have paused and some of the Palestinians held by the Hamas in the Gaza Strip have been released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.