US President Donald Trump met with Jordan's King Abdullah II and his firstborn Crown Prince Hussein at the White House on Tuesday, where he reiterated his plan to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate its residents to other countries, including Jordan and Egypt.
Trump's proposal, which has been met with skepticisms from American conservatives, Arab states and Palestinians, involves rebuilding Gaza into what he calls the "Riviera of the Middle East" and relocating its 1.9 million Palestinian residents to other countries
The King of Jordan announced that his country would take in 2,000 children from Gaza who have cancer or are sick and provide them with medical treatment.
"I think one of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children that are either cancer children or in a very ill state, to Jordan as quickly as possible," Abdullah said. "And then wait for … the Egyptians to present their plan on how we can work with the president to work on the cause of challenges."
Abdullah later shared in a social media post on X that he "reiterated" Jordan's stance opposing the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, claiming this was a "unified Arab position."
"Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all," Abdullah said on X.
Egypt announced plans on Sunday for an emergency Arab Summit to discuss "new and dangerous developments" regarding the resettling of Palestinians on Feb. 27.
At the White House Tuesday, Trump said that the U.S. isn't interested in purchasing Gaza and promised to deliver peace to the region instead.
"We're not going to buy anything. We're going to have it and we're going to keep it, and we're going to make sure that there's going to be peace, and there's not going to be any problem, and nobody's going to question it," Trump told reporters at the White House. "And we're going to run it very properly. And eventually we'll have, economic development at a very large scale, maybe the largest scale on that side."
When asked how he felt about Trump's plans for the future of Gaza, Abdullah remained tight-lipped and said he would wait for the Egyptians to take the lead on a proposal moving forward as they negotiate with the U.S.
"I think let's wait until the Egyptians can come and present it to the president and not get ahead of us," Abdullah said.
Trump doubled down on his plans to "take over" Gaza in an interview that aired Monday with Fox News' Bret Baier and said that he expects Abdullah ultimately will choose to let in Palestinians. "I do think he’ll take, and I think other countries will take also. Trump They have good hearts."
However, Trump also issued a warning that withholding aid to Jordan could happen should Jordan refuse to take in Palestinian refugees. The U.S. distributed nearly $1.7 billion in foreign aid to Jordan in fiscal year 2023, according to the State Department.
"Yeah, maybe, sure why not," Trump said when asked. "If they don’t, I would conceivably withhold aid, yes.
Gaza Strip, the territory at the center of Trump's proposal, which has been devastated by war and is home to 1.9 million Palestinian residents.
