Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has told Al Jazeera that the kingdom will not budge in its opposition to US President Donald Trump’s proposal of relocating Palestinians in Gaza to other countries, such as Jordan and Egypt.
His comments come after Jordan’s King Abdullah II met Trump in the White House on Tuesday, where the latter reiterated at a news briefing that the US would be taking over the besieged Gaza Strip emptied of its residents, a proposal critics say is effectively ethnic cleansing, the forcible expulsion of people from their homeland.
“There are fixed and steadfast Jordanian positions that will not change … the Palestinians cannot be transferred to Egypt, Jordan, or any Arab state,” Safadi said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
“We will work for a just peace, which cannot take place without the implementation of the two-state solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people, especially their right for freedom and for an independent sovereign state on their Palestinian homeland.”
Both Jordan and Egypt have refused to accept forcibly displaced Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Arab nations have all been united in their unyielding opposition to Trump’s plan. China has also firmly stated, “Gaza belongs to Palestinians.”
During the meeting with Trump, Abdullah avoided directly contradicting Trump, alluding instead to an alternative plan soon to be revealed by Egypt.
When asked whether Jordan would take in Palestinians displaced from Gaza, the Jordanian leader said he would do what was “best” for his country. He added that Jordan would take 2,000 sick Palestinian children who need medical treatment.
Jordan is currently home to more than 2 million Palestinian refugees in its population of 11 million people.
Safadi said Arab states are now working to formulate a plan to rebuild Gaza “without transferring its people,” which will be presented once it’s ready.
“The American president presented some ideas. And, his majesty presented some ideas,” he said. “We will work with the American president to build Gaza without transferring its people.”
On Tuesday, Trump emphasised again that Palestinians would not want to stay in Gaza, seemingly dismissing their deep attachment to their land.
Critics say his vision for Gaza — redeveloped with hotels, offices and a “Riviera” atmosphere — seems divorced from the politics of the region and that this is not another real estate opportunity. Palestinians have long withstood pressures to force them from their remaining territory, despite decades of continued Israeli occupation and bombardment.
