By Nandita Bose, Kanishka Singh and Nidal al-Mughrabi
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/Cairo (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned Jordan and Egypt ought to take extra Palestinians from war-ravaged Gaza, a suggestion rejected by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs the enclave.
Requested if this was a brief or long-term answer for Gaza, the place Israel’s army assault has brought on a dire humanitarian scenario and killed tens of 1000’s, Trump mentioned on Saturday: “Could be either.”
A Hamas official reacted with suspicion to the remarks, echoing long-standing Palestinian fears about being pushed completely from their houses.
Palestinians “will not accept any offers or solutions, even if (such offers) appear to have good intentions under the guise of reconstruction, as announced in the proposals of U.S. President Trump,” Basem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, informed Reuters.
One other Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, urged Trump to not repeat “failed” concepts tried by his predecessor Joe Biden.
“The people of Gaza have endured death and refused to leave their homeland and they will not leave it regardless of any other reasons,” Abu Zuhri informed Reuters.
Palestinian analyst Ghassan al-Khatib mentioned Palestinians within the West Financial institution and Gaza, in addition to the Jordanians and Egyptians, would reject Trump’s plan: “I don’t think that there is a place in reality for such an idea.”
Washington had mentioned final 12 months it opposed the forcible displacement of Palestinians. Rights teams and humanitarian businesses have for months raised considerations over the scenario in Gaza, with the conflict displacing practically the complete inhabitants and resulting in a starvation disaster.
Washington has additionally confronted criticism for backing Israel however has maintained assist for its ally, saying it’s serving to Israel defend itself in opposition to Iranian-backed militant teams like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
“I said to him I’d love you to take on more because I’m looking at the whole Gaza strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess. I’d like him to take people,” Trump, who took workplace on Jan. 20, mentioned a couple of name on Saturday with Jordan’s King Abdullah.
“I’d like Egypt to take people,” Trump informed reporters, including he would converse to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.
“You’re talking about a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” Trump mentioned.
The inhabitants within the Palestinian enclave previous to the beginning of the Israel-Gaza conflict was round 2.3 million.
GAZA IS A ‘DEMOLITION SITE’
“It’s literally a demolition site, almost everything is demolished and people are dying there, so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change,” Trump mentioned.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants have been internally displaced by the conflict. On Sunday, a lot of these rejected Trump’s suggession, saying what conflict could not obtain, politics could be two week to do. Some referred to as him “arrogant”.
“If he thinks he will forcibly displace the Palestinian people (then) this is impossible, impossible, impossible. The Palestinian people firmly believe that this land is theirs, this soil is their soil,” mentioned Magdy Seidam.
“No matter how much Israel tries to destroy, break, and to show people that it had won, in reality it did not win.”
The newest bloodshed within the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian battle was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 folks and taking round 250 hostages, in response to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s subsequent army assault on Gaza has killed greater than 47,000 folks, in response to the Gaza well being ministry, and led to accusations of genocide and conflict crimes that Israel denies.
A ceasefire went into impact per week in the past and has led to the discharge of some Israeli hostages held by Hamas in change for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
