1 year ago
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- President Donald Trump's proposition that Egypt and Jordan instrumentality successful Palestinians from the war-ravaged Gaza Strip is being met with a hard "no" from astatine slightest 1 of the 2 U.S. allies on with the Palestinians themselves, who fearfulness Israel would ne'er let them to return.
Trump floated the idea connected Saturday, saying helium would impulse the leaders of the 2 Arab countries to instrumentality successful Gaza's present mostly stateless population, truthful that "we conscionable cleanable retired that full thing." He added that resettling Gaza's colonisation of 2.3 cardinal could beryllium impermanent oregon long-term.
"It's virtually a demolition tract close now," Trump said, referring to the immense destruction caused by Israel's 15-month warfare with Hamas, present paused by a fragile ceasefire.
"I'd alternatively get progressive with immoderate of the Arab nations, and physique lodging successful a antithetic location, wherever they tin possibly unrecorded successful bid for a change," Trump said.
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority condemned the idea. Jordan's overseas minister, Ayman Safadi, told journalists that his country's rejection of the projected transportation of Palestinians was "firm and unwavering." There was nary contiguous remark from Egypt oregon Israel.
The thought is apt to beryllium welcomed by immoderate successful Israel, wherever Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right governing partners person agelong advocated what they picture arsenic the voluntary migration of ample numbers of Palestinians and the reestablishment of Jewish settlements successful Gaza.
Human rights groups person already accused Israel of taste cleansing, which United Nations experts person defined arsenic a argumentation designed by 1 taste oregon spiritual radical to region the civilian colonisation of different radical from definite areas "by convulsive and terror-inspiring means."
Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine manager astatine Human Rights Watch, said Trump's connection if implemented, "would magnitude to an alarming escalation successful the taste cleansing of the Palestinian radical and exponentially summation their suffering."
A past of displacement
Before and during the 1948 warfare surrounding Israel's creation, immoderate 700,000 Palestinians - a bulk of the prewar colonisation - fled oregon were driven from their homes successful what is present Israel, an lawsuit they commemorate arsenic the Nakba - Arabic for catastrophe.
Israel refused to let them to instrumentality due to the fact that it would person resulted successful a Palestinian bulk wrong its borders. The refugees and their descendants present fig astir 6 million, with ample communities successful Gaza, wherever they marque up the bulk of the population, arsenic good arsenic the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
In the 1967 Mideast war, erstwhile Israel seized the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 300,000 much Palestinians fled, mostly into Jordan.
The decades-old exile situation has been a large operator of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle and was 1 of the thorniest issues successful bid talks that past broke down successful 2009. The Palestinians assertion a close of return, portion Israel says they should beryllium absorbed by surrounding Arab countries.
Displaced Palestinians instrumentality to Rafah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 a time aft the ceasefire woody betwixt Israel and Hamas went into effect
AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi
Many Palestinians presumption the latest warfare successful Gaza, successful which full neighborhoods person been shelled to oblivion and 90% of the colonisation person been forced from their homes, arsenic a caller Nakba. They fearfulness that if ample numbers of Palestinians permission Gaza, past they excessively whitethorn ne'er return.
Steadfastly remaining connected one's onshore is cardinal to Palestinian culture, and was connected vivid show successful Gaza connected Sunday, erstwhile thousands of radical tried to return to the astir heavy destroyed portion of the territory.
A reddish enactment for countries that made bid with Israel
Egypt and Jordan fiercely rejected the thought of accepting Gaza refugees aboriginal successful the war, erstwhile it was floated by immoderate Israeli officials.
Both countries person made bid with Israel but enactment the instauration of a Palestinian authorities successful the occupied West Bank, Gaza and eastbound Jerusalem. They fearfulness that the imperishable displacement of Gaza's colonisation could marque that impossible.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has besides warned of the information implications of transferring ample numbers of Palestinians to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, bordering Gaza.
Hamas and different militant groups are profoundly rooted successful Palestinian nine and are apt to determination with the refugees, which would mean that aboriginal wars would beryllium fought connected Egyptian soil. That could unravel the historical Camp David bid treaty, a cornerstone of determination stability.
"The bid which we person achieved would vanish from our hands," el-Sissi said successful October 2023, aft Hamas' onslaught connected confederate Israel triggered the war. "All for the involvement of the thought of eliminating the Palestinian cause."
That's what happened successful Lebanon successful the 1970s, erstwhile Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization, the starring militant radical of its time, transformed the country's southbound into a launchpad for attacks connected Israel. The exile situation and the PLO's actions helped propulsion Lebanon into a 15-year civilian warfare successful 1975. Israel invaded doubly and occupied confederate Lebanon from 1982 until 2000.
Jordan, which clashed with the PLO and expelled it nether akin circumstances successful 1970, already hosts much than 2 cardinal Palestinian refugees, the bulk of whom person been granted citizenship.
Israeli ultranationalists person agelong suggested that Jordan beryllium considered a Palestinian authorities truthful that Israel tin support the West Bank, which they presumption arsenic the biblical heartland of the Jewish people. Jordan's monarchy has vehemently rejected that scenario.
Can Trump unit Egypt and Jordan to judge refugees?
That depends connected however superior Trump is astir the thought and however acold helium is prepared to go.
U.S. tariffs - one of Trump's favourite economical tools - oregon outright sanctions could beryllium devastating for Jordan and Egypt. The 2 countries person billions of dollars successful American assistance each year, and Egypt is already mired successful an economical crisis.
But allowing an influx of refugees could besides beryllium destabilizing. Egypt says it is presently hosting immoderate 9 cardinal migrants, including refugees from Sudan's civilian war. Jordan, with a colonisation of little than 12 million, is hosting implicit 700,000 refugees, chiefly from Syria.
U.S. unit would besides hazard alienating cardinal allies successful the portion with whom Trump has had bully relations - not lone el-Sissi and Jordan's King Abdullah II, but the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, each of whom enactment the Palestinian cause.
That would perchance complicate efforts to broker a historical statement betwixt Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize relations, thing Trump tried to bash during his erstwhile word and expects to implicit successful his existent one.
Associated Press writers Samy Magdy successful Cairo and Tia Goldenberg successful Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
Featured video is from a erstwhile report.
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