Trump says ‘clean out that whole thing’ as part of his plan for Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed a plan aimed at "cleaning up" the Gaza Strip, stating his desire for Egypt and Jordan to receive Palestinians from the area. Israeli attacks have already displaced over 90% of the region's population. Trump referred to Gaza as a "demolition site" and mentioned he had discussed moving Palestinians out of the area with King Abdullah II of Jordan.

“I would like to have Egypt take the people, and I would like to have Jordan take the people,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. He added that he planned to speak with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday. Speaking of Gaza, Trump said, “You’re talking about maybe 1.5 million people, and we’re just going to clean up the whole place.” The population of Gaza is approximately 2.4 million, and he also added that “something has to happen.” Israel’s ongoing 15-month war has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s population, devastated large parts of Gaza, and killed more than 47,000 people.

Israeli political analyst Meron Rapoport expressed skepticism about the feasibility of Trump’s plan, even if it gained broad support within Israeli political circles. “Israel would love to see the Palestinians disappear from Gaza, that’s obvious. But do you think the Palestinians will agree to move? Do you think Jordan or Egypt will agree to take them? I don’t think so,” Rapoport told Middle East Eye. A fragile ceasefire has been in effect since January 19, and on Saturday, Israel and Hamas completed a second prisoner-captive exchange. Hamas released four Israeli female soldiers in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners.

“I would rather work with some of the Arab countries to build housing in different places, and they can maybe change their lives and live peacefully,” Trump said, adding that the relocation of Gaza residents could be “temporary or it could be long-term.” Rapoport said it was unlikely that Israel would jeopardize its peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan by forcing them to accept Palestinians into their territories. “These peace agreements are more strategically important for Israel than ‘reducing’ the population of the Gaza Strip,” he said.

Meanwhile, Palestinian human rights activist Amir Makhoul stated that Trump’s proposal is part of a U.S. plan aimed at “reconstruction and political demographic engineering without camps and an effort to dismantle the Palestinian people’s connection.” Makhoul told Middle East Eye, “There is no temporary population transfer in terms of the Palestinian issue, but rather permanent displacement, as has been the case since the 1948 refugees and the 1967 displaced people.” He also said, “Trump’s talk about the location of the Gaza Strip reveals his intention to deal with the issue as real estate and an attempt to control the strip and its economic resources, particularly the gas in the waters of Gaza.”

Egypt has previously warned against the “forced displacement” of Palestinians from Gaza into the country, with Sisi stating that such a move could jeopardize the 1979 peace treaty with Israel. Meanwhile, according to the United Nations, Jordan already hosts approximately 2.3 million registered Palestinian refugees. “Egypt and Jordan will not accept Trump’s proposal because it is a politically unacceptable position and a threat to their respective national security,” Makhoul said.

Trump’s incoming administration has pledged “unwavering support” for Israel but has not yet outlined a broader Middle East strategy. On Saturday, the U.S. president confirmed that he had directed the Pentagon to approve the shipment of 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) bombs to Israel, a shipment that had previously been paused by former President Joe Biden. “We released them today, and they will get them. They paid for them, and they’ve been waiting a long time. They’ve been sitting in warehouses,” Trump told reporters. A 2,000-pound bomb is capable of penetrating dense concrete and metal and causing widespread destruction over a large area.