Trump, hosting Jordan’s king, renews his insistence that the US can take over Gaza

Washington: President Donald Trump has hosted Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House and renewed his suggestions that Gaza could be emptied of residents, controlled by the US and redeveloped as a tourist area – a plan that could only work if the Arab nation agreed to accept more refugees.

The pair met in the Oval Office on Wednesday (AEDT), where Trump suggested he wouldn’t withhold US aid to Jordan, Egypt or other Arab nations if they did’t agree to dramatically increase the number of people from Gaza they take in.

“I don’t have to threaten that. I do believe we’re above that,” Trump said, contradicting his previous suggestion that holding back aid was possible.

Trump hosts Jordan’s King Abdullah II in the Oval Office at the White House.Credit: AP

Abdullah was asked repeatedly about Trump’s audacious plan to remake the Middle East but didn’t make substantive comments on it nor on the idea that his country could accept large numbers of new refugees from Gaza.

Trump also repeated suggestions the US could come to control Gaza, but it wouldn’t require committing funds and would come to fruition. He also said it would be possible “under the US authority” without elaborating what that actually was.

“We’re not going to buy anything. We’re going to have it,” Trump said of US control in Gaza. He suggested that the redeveloped area could have new hotels, office buildings and houses, “and we’ll make it exciting”.

“I can tell you about real estate. They’re going to be in love with it,” Trump, who built a New York real estate empire that catapulted him to fame, said of Gaza’s residents while also insisting that he personally would not be involved in any development.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile said that if Hamas did not release Israeli hostages by noon on Saturday the fragile ceasefire in Gaza would end and the Israeli army would resume its offensive in the Palestinian enclave until the militant group is defeated. The timing was first suggested by Trump on Tuesday.

Trump greets Jordan’s King Abdullah at the White House.Credit: AP

“In light of Hamas’ announcement of its decision to violate the agreement and not release our hostages, last night I ordered the IDF to gather forces inside and around the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said, speaking after a meeting of his security cabinet.

“This operation is being carried out at this time. It will be completed in the very near future,” he said in a statement.

Trump used the meeting with the Jordanian king to double down on his threat of letting “hell break out”.

“I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline, personally,” Trump said of Hamas. “They want to play tough guy. We’ll see how tough they are.”

Abdullah’s visit comes at a perilous moment for the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas has accused Israel of violating the truce and said it would pause future releases of hostages captured in its October 7, 2023, attack.

Trump has repeatedly proposed the US take control of Gaza and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East,” with Palestinians in the war-torn territory pushed into neighbouring nations with no right of return.

Jordan is home to more than 2 million Palestinians and, along with other Arab states, has flatly rejected Trump’s plan to relocate civilians from Gaza. Its Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said last week that his country’s opposition to Trump’s idea was “firm and unwavering”.

Besides concerns about jeopardising the long-held goals of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Egypt and Jordan have privately raised security concerns about welcoming large numbers of additional refugees into their countries, even temporarily.

Trump announced his ideas for resettling Palestinians from Gaza and taking ownership of the territory for the US during a press conference last week with Netanyahu.

The president initially didn’t rule out deploying US troops to help secure Gaza but, at the same time, insisted no US funds would go to pay for the reconstruction of the territory, raising fundamental questions about the nature of his plan.

AP

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