The New York Times reported that King Abdullah II of Jordan rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to absorb the people of Gaza into Jordan and Egypt.
اضافة اعلان
The newspaper’s article, written by journalists Zolan Kano-Youngs and Maggie Haberman, was titled: "King Abdullah II Rejects Trump's Proposal to Absorb Palestinians from Gaza," highlighting the King’s firm rejection of the plan following Trump’s insistence on Tuesday that the United States had the authority to "take" Gaza.
The report mentioned that King Abdullah rejected Trump's proposal during their meeting, emphasizing his opposition to Trump's plan of evacuating Gaza so that the U.S. could take control of the area.
The article cited tweets and statements from the King during the meeting, where he reaffirmed Jordan's firm position against the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, stating, "This is the unified Arab position. The priority for everyone should be the reconstruction of Gaza without the displacement of Palestinians and addressing the catastrophic humanitarian situation."
The report also noted Trump's remarks before meeting with the King, when he said, "The United States has the authority to 'take' Gaza," which was part of Trump's attempts to pressure King Abdullah and other Arab leaders to accept forced displacement—a proposal that received widespread condemnation.
Trump, while sitting next to King Abdullah and Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein, remarked, "We’ll get Gaza. It’s a war-torn region. We’ll take it, we’ll keep it, and we’ll take care of it."
The report highlighted King Abdullah’s response to Trump’s proposal, mentioning the King's initiative to offer Jordan’s assistance to treat sick Palestinian children.
According to the article, this meeting took place a week after Trump expressed his desire for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and his plan to resettle about two million Palestinians from the area into both Jordan and Egypt. Both Amman and Cairo rejected the idea when Trump mentioned it last week during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The report also referenced a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on social media, which said that Egypt would work with the U.S. on "a just settlement for the Palestinian cause," but stressed that Palestinians must be allowed to remain in their homeland.
The report quoted analyst Jonathan Panikoff, who said, "All the leaders in the region are trying to balance what they see as an increasingly chaotic situation." He added, "There has been an ongoing conflict for nearly a year and a half and it has never fully quieted. But now, you have a U.S. president threatening actions that would add fuel to an already burning fire."
The article also noted that Trump had intensified pressure on Egypt and Jordan ahead of King Abdullah’s visit, when he stated that he might cut aid to Jordan if it refused to accept the resettlement of Palestinians. Once resettled, Trump said, these Palestinians would not have the right to return to Gaza.
When asked how Palestinians would be forced to leave Gaza, Trump ignored the question, responding, "They’ll be in great shape. They’ll be very happy."
The report concluded by quoting Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, who explained that King Abdullah’s offer was part of a known “playbook” used by Arab leaders when dealing with Trump. Katulis said, "Arab leaders know how to calm Trump and then work with the serious people in his team who manage his chaos."
