Gaza City:

Hamas on Wednesday called for worldwide “solidarity marches” over the weekend to protest a US plan endorsed by Israel to displace Palestinians from the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

“We… call on the masses of our people, our Arab and Islamic nation, and the free people of the world to go out in massive solidarity marches” from Friday through Sunday to denounce “the plans to displace our Palestinian people from their land”, Hamas said in a statement.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington DC:

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) doubled down on his threat of the United States “owning” the Gaza Strip by displacing the 2.2 million Palestinians living in the enclave to neighbouring countries as he met Jordan King Abdullah II– now of America’s closest Middle East allies. 

“We’re going to have Gaza. We don’t have to buy. There’s nothing to buy. We will have Gaza…We’re going to take it, we’re going to hold it, we’re going to cherish it,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office as he met the Jordanian King.

But Trump, who made his fortune as a real estate tycoon did however deny that he would seek to personally develop property in Gaza. “No. I’ve had a great career in real estate,” he said.

Trump, who had earlier said his plan to “take over Gaza” would not include a right of return for displaced Palestinians, now said the redeveloped land will be for people in the Middle East.

“We’re going to get it going eventually, where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East. It’s going to be for the people in the Middle East,” he said. 

He added that Palestinians living in Gaza would be happy to leave because they are currently “living a terrible life” after more than a year of war following the October 7 terror attacks on Israel by Hamas.

“Look at the way they’re living now. Nobody’s nobody’s living like that in the entire world. They’re living under buildings that are mostly fallen down and will continue to fall down, and they’re living under people are being killed every day. The conditions are horrible. There are no conditions anywhere in the world that are worse than the Gaza Strip,” he said.

The US leader stunned the world when he announced a proposal last week for the United States to “take over” Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” — but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them ever to return.

Pushback

The American President’s plan to “own” Gaza and place it under “US authority” faced pushback from the visiting Abdullah II, who informed that Egypt was working on a plan for how countries in the region could “work” with Trump on his shock proposal.

“I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” Abdullah said on social media after the talks.

Trump has repeatedly suggested that neighbouring countries such as Jordan and Egypt could absorb Gaza’s population. “We will be in Saudi Arabia to discuss how we can work with the President and with the United States. So I think let’s wait until the Egyptians can come and present it to the President and not get ahead of us,” Abdullah said.

The Jordanian monarch also appeared to offer a sweetener to Trump, who the day before the visit floated the possibility of halting US aid to Jordan if it did not take in refugees.

“One of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state. That is possible,” Abdullah said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.

Trump replied that it was “really a beautiful gesture” and said he didn’t know about it before the Jordanian monarch’s arrival at the White House.

The American President also retreated from his previous talk of an aid halt to Jordan and Egypt, saying: “I don’t have to threaten that. I do believe we’re above that.”

The Egyptian foreign ministry later said it plans to “present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction” of the Gaza Strip that ensures Palestinians remain on their land.

It said Egypt “hopes to cooperate” with Trump’s administration on the matter, with the goal of “reaching a fair settlement of the Palestinian cause”.

Future Of Gaza Truce

Meanwhile, Israel has threatened to resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if hostages were not released this weekend, while Hamas insisted it remained committed to the ceasefire deal and accused Israel of violations.

Under the terms of the truce, which has largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, captives were to be released in batches in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. So far, Israel and Hamas have completed five hostage-prisoner swaps. But the deal has come under increasing strain in recent days, prompting diplomatic efforts to salvage it and Hamas to say it was “committed to the ceasefire”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF (Israeli military) will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated”.

His threat echoed that of US President Donald Trump who said on Monday that “hell” would break loose if Hamas failed to release “all” Israeli hostages by Saturday.
 

Washington:

Jordan’s King Abdullah II told Donald Trump Tuesday that his country would take in some 2,000 sick children from war-torn Gaza but pushed back against the US president’s plan to take over the Palestinian territory and send its population into exile.

“I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” Abdullah said on social media after the talks.

However, he told Trump  that Egypt was working on a plan for how countries in the region could “work” with Trump on the proposal.

The Jordanian monarch also appeared to offer a sweetener to Trump, who had just the day before the visit floated the possibility of halting US aid to Jordan if it did not take refugees.

“One of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state. That is possible,” Abdullah said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.

Trump replied that it was “really a beautiful gesture” and said he didn’t know about it before the Jordanian monarch’s arrival at the White House.

The US leader stunned the world when he announced a proposal last week for the United States to “take over” Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” — but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them ever to return.

Abdullah urged patience and said that Egypt was coming up with a response and that Arab nations would then discuss it at talks in Riyadh.

“Let’s wait until the Egyptians can come and present it to the president and not get ahead of ourselves,” Abdullah said.

Trump retreated from his previous talk of an aid halt to Jordan and Egypt, saying: “I don’t have to threaten that. I do believe we’re above that.”

– ‘Tough guy’ –
Trump however showed kept pushing his plan to “own” Gaza despite the fact that it is home to more than two million Palestinians, saying that it would be held under “US authority.”

“We don’t have to buy. We’re going to have Gaza,” Trump said.

“We’re going to take it, we’re going to hold it, we’re going to cherish it.”

But Trump, who made his fortune as a real estate tycoon did however deny that he would seek to personally develop property in Gaza. “No. I’ve had a great career in real estate,” he said.

The meeting came as the Gaza ceasefire appears increasingly fragile, after Trump warned on Monday that “all hell” would break out if Hamas fails to release all hostages by Saturday.

Trump said he doubted that the Palestinian militant group would abide by the ultimatum — but played down the risk of a longer threat to efforts to create a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas.

“It’s not going to take a long time,” Trump said. “A bully is the weakest person, and they’re bullies. Hamas is bullies.”

The Jordanian king and crown prince earlier met Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz.

King Abdullah is a key US ally but last week rejected “any attempts” to take control of the Palestinian territories and displace its people.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is expected to visit the White House later this week, urged on Tuesday the reconstruction of Gaza “without displacing Palestinians.”

Analysts say the issue is an existential one for Jordan in particular.

Half of Jordan’s population of 11 million is of Palestinian origin, and since the establishment of Israel in 1948, many Palestinians have sought refuge there.

In 1970 in what became known as “Black September,” clashes erupted between the Jordanian army and Palestinian groups led by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

It resulted in the expulsion of those groups.

But Jordan is also keenly aware of the economic pressure Trump could exercise. Every year, Jordan receives around $750 million in economic assistance from Washington and another $350 million in military aid.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)