By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Tensions were rising in the Middle East on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald J. Trump warned Jordan and Egypt he could “conceivably” withhold aid to them if they don’t take Palestinian refugees he seeks to relocate from the Gaza Strip, which was partly destroyed in the Israel-Hamas war.
Trump made the comments while speaking Monday to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington.
His threat came as Egypt rejected “any compromise” that would “infringe” on Palestinians’ rights. Cairo made the announcement following talks between its Foreign Minister Badr Abdelattywith his US counterpart in Washington.
Jordan also rejected Trump’s proposal to resettle up to 2 million Palestinians from Gaza, which the self-declared deal-maker-in-chief wants to turn into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
However, Trump said his plan could offer development in the enclave to “supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” Trump said at the White House after talks last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He added that his administration would take responsibility for clearing destroyed buildings and dismantling “dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons.”
HAMAS FURIOUS
Hamas, which had been ruling Gaza and attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, called Trump’s plan for the territory a “recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region.”
“Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass,” the group said last week in a statement.
Trump’s threat to withhold aid came hours before Jordan’s King Abdullah II was to visit Washington on Tuesday. This would mark the first official trip by an Arab leader to the United States during US President Trump’s second term.
Their talks were due to focus on Gaza, which Jordan said is not “an economic or security issue” but “an identity issue.”
Critics who held protests against the plan have also said that Trump’s proposal would push Jordan “toward becoming a Palestinian state.”
Meanwhile, Jordanians of Palestinian origin, who exist today and comprise a majority of Jordan’s population, are weary of the kingdom transforming into an alternative Palestinian homeland.
Representatives say it would result in “a denial” of Palestinians’ “right of return” to the areas they fled in 1948 and 1967.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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